Minimalist Bible: The Covenant – A Promise To Sarah
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Written by Chad - |
God has given me the idea to pursue a personal design project of creating minimalist posters to share the awesome stories of the Bible. If you missed out on previous posters, don't worry, I have created a landing page where you can easily catch up. Check it out here.
This poster series comes from the book of Genesis. It is a story filled with tests of faith, promises and miracles. I'm excited today to reveal The Covenant: A Promise to Sarah, part five of an eleven part series.
The Covenant: A Promise to Sarah begins in Genesis 18:1-15 (NLT) which says, "The Lord appeared again to Abraham near the oak grove belonging to Mamre. One day Abraham was sitting at the entrance to his tent during the hottest part of the day. He looked up and noticed three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran to meet them and welcomed them, bowing low to the ground.
'My lord,' he said, 'if it pleases you, stop here for a while. Rest in the shade of this tree while water is brought to wash your feet. And since you’ve honored your servant with this visit, let me prepare some food to refresh you before you continue on your journey.'
'All right,' they said. 'Do as you have said.'
So Abraham ran back to the tent and said to Sarah, 'Hurry! Get three large measures of your best flour, knead it into dough, and bake some bread.' Then Abraham ran out to the herd and chose a tender calf and gave it to his servant, who quickly prepared it. When the food was ready, Abraham took some yogurt and milk and the roasted meat, and he served it to the men. As they ate, Abraham waited on them in the shade of the trees.
'Where is Sarah, your wife?' the visitors asked.
'She’s inside the tent,' Abraham replied.
Then one of them said, 'I will return to you about this time next year, and your wife, Sarah, will have a son!'
Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. So she laughed silently to herself and said, 'How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?'
Then the Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return about this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.'
Sarah was afraid, so she denied it, saying, 'I didn’t laugh.'
But the Lord said, 'No, you did laugh.'"
How Forgetful Am I?
I can remember quotes from movies, sing songs with ease and can find the remote to the TV, but I constantly find myself forgetting the important things—scriptures that changed my life, God's voice when I needed to hear Him, small miracles, etc. Why does this happen? Why do I end up on my knees begging God to reveal Himself to me when I need Him the most? In these times of distress or when questions start to rise up in my life, I always end up like Sarah—laughing sarcastically at God's ability. Every time I end up shaking my head or even allowing doubt to creep in.
I imagine this would be a conversation between me and God, when he calls me out:
Me: God, man I don't get why you think I can do that. Are you crazy? I have no idea how to organize that mess and even get people on board for something like this. PLUS, I don't have any money or supporters helping me out. I'm completely out on my own!
God: Why are you doubting me? Don't you remember the time I allowed you to quit your full time job and come home to work? How about the time I healed a broken memory card to save your butt? Chad, I have a laundry list of things that I have done for you and yet, you are still questioning me? Why?
Me: Mainly because I'm scared. I feel like I don't have what it takes to make it happen or that everyone will think I'm crazy. Also, I just don't want to fail. Failure would bring questions, concerns and even the backs of my friends. I don't want to experience that.
God: HA! Are those your reasons? Have you forgotgten what I'm capable of? I have created everything from galaxies to the Helium atom. Nothing is too hard for me. You need to trust in me and have faith. My opinion is the only one that matters anyway.
Why do we get this way? Sarah totally did it, too. She witnessed firsthand what God could do. She watched as God blessed them with goats, sheep and other livestock. She saw God guide and direct them through the unfamiliar land to find water sources. She was there when Abraham came back describing the visions and conversations he had with God. Sarah fully knew the power God had in his back pocket, but she laughed when she heard him promise her a child.
God is powerful and can make something out of nothing. He created man from dust and woman from a rib. There's scripture that backs how incomprehensible God's power is:
Exodus 15:6: "Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power. Your right hand, O Lord, smashes the enemy."
Ephesians 3:20: "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."
Romans 4:21: "He [Abraham] was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises."
Hebrews 11:3: "By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen."
I know God's immeasurable ability is hard to grasp because our human minds are so limited. We can look at all types of commentaries and Biblical references and talk about it until the cows come home, but when it really comes down to it, we just have to believe wholeheartedly that God is able. Human limitations like age, knowledge, ability, gender, status, income, popularity, or job title mean absolutely nothing to our God. Our God holds all authority, all power, all ability and all resources in the palm of his hand. When we are given a promise from God, we don't need pre-requisites, because God has us covered.
For me, when I get into a situation where my gut response is a sarcastic laugh toward God like Sarah's, I play the song "God is Able" by Hillsong Live as a reminder of God's capability. Some of you may have heard it, but this song has helped me get through some serious doubts. You can check out the video or you can read the lyrics below:
God is Able
He will never fail
He is almighty God
Greater than all we seek
Greater than all we ask
He has done great things
Lifted up, He defeated the grave
raised to life, our God is able
In His name, we overcome
For the Lord, our God is able
God is with us
God is on our side
He will make a way
Far above all we know
Far above all we hope
He has done great things
Lifted up, He defeated the grave
Raised to life, our God is able
In His name, we overcome
For the Lord, our God is able
God is with us
He will go before
He will never leave us
He will never leave us
God is for us
He has open arms
He will never fail us
He will never fail us
Lifted up, He defeated the grave
raised to life, our God is able
In His name, we overcome
For the Lord, our God is able
Lifted up, He defeated the grave
raised to life, our God is able
In His name, we overcome
For the Lord, our God is able
For the Lord, our God is able
For the Lord, our God is able
