The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
She also said, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne a son for him in his old age.”   Genesis 21:7 HCSB

Back in Genesis chapter 12 God called Abraham to leave his homeland and most of his relatives and head for a land that God promised to show him. God also promised to Abraham that He would make him the father of a great nation. Abraham, or Abram, as he was known at the time did as God said. God continued to promise Abraham and Sarah that they would have a son and that he would be the father of a great nation. There was one huge problem with this, Sarah was barren, she was unable to have children. She and Abraham grew impatient and took matters into their own hands and that didn’t work out so well for them, but still God was working and had worked their mess into his plan. He knew what they were going to do.

Even if she had not been barren, she was well past her birthing years. But the Lord works in mysterious ways. When Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90, Sarah did conceive just as God had promised and gave birth to Isaac.

When it was time for Isaac to marry, Abraham sent his servant to his homeland to find a wife for him because he did not want him involved with the pagan Canaanite women. God again intervened and through His divine intervention provided the perfect wife for Isaac. But again, this woman, Rebekah was barren. Isaac prayed for her (Genesis 25:21) and she conceived and had twin boys.

God kept his promise to Abraham through seemingly impossible odds, but we know that with God all things are possible. Ishmael became the father of the Arab nation and Isaac, through his son Jacob, became the father of the Israelite nation.

Jesus was born of a virgin. That seems even more impossible than children being born of women who were barren. But we must remember that with God all things are possible. God works things out according to His plan, even if it seems impossible to us mere mortals. God is sovereign and He controls all things.

One might ask why He used barren women and a virgin to fulfill His promises. I believe it is, so we know that it comes from Him. Only God could cause a barren woman to conceive. Only God could cause a virgin birth. The Lord works in mysterious ways that we may never understand, but the point of all this is that He is working. He is still on the throne.

The Old Testament is filled with historical narratives where small armies faced huge armies and defeated them. It is faced with such rich history as how a young teen, David, slayed Goliath. It tells how Daniel spent the night in the lion’s den and was unharmed. It tells us how Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked around with a fourth man in a fiery furnace and came out unharmed and not even smelling of smoke.

The God that did all these miraculous things is alive and well and working in our lives today. Maybe you think that He won’t come through for you because you are not David, Daniel, or Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego. But my friend if you believe in Him and have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are a blood bought child of God. He saved you from your sins and this is a miracle within itself. He can certainly bring you through whatever fire or flood you may be walking through now. The thing about all these men in the Old Testament is that they had faith (Hebrews 11). They trusted in God to do as He had promised.

If you are having hard times, trust in Him. Turn to Him and give it all over Him. He is there for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7 tells us to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt us at the proper time, casting all our cares on Him because He cares about us.

Let go of yourself and what you can do, turn to God and trust in Him. Humble yourself before Him and give it all over to Him. And most importantly remember He’s still in the miracle business. He works in ways we may never understand, but He works. Trust in Him today.

Have a great day!