TENT FLAP LAUGHING
Abraham and Sarah have been promised a son (Isaac) and of course they are in disbelief because they are really old and “past child bearing.” When Sarah heard this behind the tent flap of the tent the Lord asked, “Why did Sarah laugh?” They said to the Lord, “Shall we have a child when we are so old?” The Lord replied, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”
This is the question that frustrates and exposes all of us. If we answer, ‘No,’ then we are some how blindly believing in faith even when perhaps our minds and reason are in full doubt. We almost believe because we are ‘supposed to.’ However, deep down inside we believe in a powerful and wise God without limits and therefore we cling to the idea that nothing is too difficult for such a God. At least it sounds right when we say it.
Typically, in faith, we ‘act as though’ until the real happens. This can produce faith, but misguided it may also produce doubt. If we say, ‘Yes’ there are many things too difficult for God, then we are getting behind the tent flap and doubting to the point of laughter and when caught in this honest and reasonable reaction by the Lord, we reply with Sarah, “I didn’t laugh.” We deny what we are afraid of and what we do not understand. We especially deny promises to us that have been years without fulfillment, in her case, about seventy-five years without a child. That could cause one to laugh behind the tent flap. The laughter can be humorous or a laughter that replaces, in a sheltered way, the deep pain and disappointment of the heart. The Lord tells Sarah, “No, but you did laugh.” Truth speaks truth and the reality of the Lord can many times almost seem harsh.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” Jesus