Judging Him Faithful Series

Introduction: The Laughter of Doubt vs. The Laughter of Faith

If you know the story in Genesis, you know that when Sarah first heard she would have a son, she laughed. It wasn't a laugh of joy; it was a laugh of disbelief. She was ninety years old. Her husband, Abraham, was one hundred. Biologically, the door to motherhood had been shut and locked for decades.

But Hebrews 11 doesn't record her laughter of doubt. It records her triumph of faith. Somewhere between that initial chuckle of skepticism and the birth of Isaac, a shift happened in Sarah's heart. She moved from looking at her own dead womb to looking at the living God. This verse tells us how she did it. It wasn't by looking at her circumstances, but by making a judgment about the character of God.

1. The Reality of the Obstacle: "Past Age"

The verse is very honest about the situation: she was "past age."

Faith does not pretend that problems don't exist. Sarah didn't stand in front of a mirror and chant, "I am young, I am young." She knew the reality. She knew that, humanly speaking, her situation was hopeless. Her body was effectively "dead" regarding childbearing (Romans 4:19).

We all face "past age" situations.

* "It's too late to save my marriage."

* "I'm too old to serve God now."

* "I've messed up too many times to be forgiven."

The obstacle was real, tangible, and undeniable. But faith is not the absence of obstacles; it is the presence of something greater than the obstacle.

2. The Reception of Power: "Received Strength"

Because of her faith, the verse says she "received strength to conceive seed."

The Greek word for "strength" here is dunamis, which means miraculous power. Sarah needed a physical miracle. She needed God to reverse the aging process and do the impossible. Faith became the conduit for God's power to flow into her physical weakness.

Notice she "received" it. She didn't generate it. She didn't work it up. She simply opened her heart to receive what God wanted to give. When we stop trying to fix our impossible situations with our own limited strength and instead rely on God, we open the door for His supernatural power to work in us.

3. The Verdict of Faith: "She Judged Him Faithful"

This is the most important part of the verse. How did she get from doubt to power? "Because she judged him faithful who had promised."

Every time we face a crisis, we are acting as a judge in a courtroom. We are passing a verdict on God's character.

* If we panic and despair, we are judging God to be a liar or incompetent.

* If we rest and trust, we are judging God to be faithful.

Sarah looked at the promise: "You will have a son." Then she looked at the Promiser. She remembered His history. She considered His power. And she banged the gavel of her heart down and declared: "He is faithful!"

She didn't have faith in her own body. She didn't have faith in Abraham's ability. She had faith in the fidelity of God. The certainty of her faith rested entirely on the reliability of the One who made the promise.

Conclusion

The result of Sarah’s faith was a son named Isaac, which means "Laughter." God turned her laughter of doubt into a laughter of pure joy.

What promise are you holding onto today that seems dead? What situation looks like it is "past age"? Stop looking at the clock and start looking at the Creator. Stop looking at the problem and start looking at the Promiser.

Make the decision today to judge Him faithful. Declare in your heart, "God, my situation looks impossible, but I judge You to be true, I judge You to be able, and I judge You to be faithful." When you honor God's character with your faith, He will honor you with His strength.