Advent Devotional  |  December 1, 2020

Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. Genesis 17:19

The fulfillment of the promises of God are so entirely impossible; they are laughable. Especially if you were Abraham and Sarah. Abraham (now renamed because God has made him into the father of many nations) and Sarah are old. Too old to have children. The Bible signals this by saying, “The way of woman ceased to be with Sarah” (Gen. 18:11). And by this time in the story, Abraham was no spring chicken either. An elderly couple and the promise of God. Humanly impossible and comedic.

When we see things with our limited eyes, we respond in kind. Abraham “fell on his face and laughed” (Gen. 17:17) while Sarah “laughed to herself” (Gen. 18:12). But God was not laughing. They didn’t know this, but the genealogy of Jesus, known by God, emerged in this very conversation. Fast forward to Luke 3:34, and this great prophecy comes to life! There is an important truth here: God sees the big picture, and as He said himself, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14). Of course not. God both knows and sees at the same time. Our limits do not apply to Him. 

Advent is a reminder of our limits and God’s limitless nature. As the season unfolds, train your eyes to see beyond human boundaries. Was it not the limits of human understanding that prevented people from seeing Jesus right in front of them? Don’t be hamstrung in the same way. Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author, and the Perfector of your faith (Heb. 12:2).

Pastor Dave Mergens