by Erik Jones

After God changed the name of Sarai (Abraham’s wife) to Sarah, He revealed how He would fulfill the promise of making Abraham the father of many peoples. God revealed that He would miraculously open the womb of Sarah to allow her to become pregnant.

Unfortunately, Abraham did not yet have the depth of faith to fully believe and trust that this would happen. Instead, “Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, ‘Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’” (Genesis 17:17). Abraham still hoped that his son Ishmael would be used to fulfill the promise (verse 18).

But God doesn’t operate based on human ideas of how things should be done. He declared, “Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:19).

This account holds a lesson for us. We must come to the point where we understand that:

• God’s way of thinking is higher and greater than ours (Isaiah 55:9).
• We should not try to enforce our way of thinking on God—but allow God to reveal His will to us (Proverbs 3:5-6).
• Acting on God’s will benefits us (Psalm 37:5; Romans 8:28).

To learn more about how to seek God’s will, read our articles on “Prayer, Fasting and Meditation.”

Tomorrow on the Daily Bible Verse Blog: “Prevailing Against Affliction.”