No Hope, No Way, Not Me …he said through the laughter

Have you ever thought to yourself, “This is it.  The clock has run out on my dreams.  I am done in.”?  In the middle of difficulties, and against staggering odds, we are often convinced that no hope remains.  The parent who has lost a child to addiction, the patient who has received a terminal diagnosis, the employee that has lost a job, the couple losing a home, the wife enduring the pain of an affair, the teenager who just does not fit in, …  at one point or another, we all face the brutal realities of life.

The question which arises amidst our most trying moments is simply this, “How can this possibly work out?”  Life often presents us with dilemmas which offer no apparent good road forward.  Recognizing our own limitations and failures, we often stand before the challenge exhausted and with little desire to fight another day.

Thankfully, despite our lack of ability to see the “rest of the story”, God has the desire and capability to bring all things together for our good.  When we are most discouraged this idea is laughable.  This is especially true when we have brought the trouble upon ourselves like the tragic figure in Nabokov’s Laughter in the Dark who, despite having a life of security, wealth, and status, gave everything up in pursuit of a young mistress.  In the end, as the story goes, he “…loved, was not loved, …and his life ended in disaster.”  When, by our own choices, we make our lives a mess, we are left wondering if there be any chance of redemption for us and our future.

God has a message for all of us who have seen life turn ugly.  Regardless of the odds, the scriptures suggest there is yet hope for our futures.  Whether the odds we face are a result of our own decisions or if we have just been blind-sided by the harsh realities of life, God is still in the mix, and He, despite our bitter and faithless laughter at the prospects, can bring about good in our lives.  God’s ability to overcome our cynical laughter is revealed in the story of Abraham, his wife Sarai, and the son God promised to them.

The story unfolds in Genesis chapter 17.  Verse 15 and following read,

And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her.  I will bless her, and she will become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.  Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?  Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child? …God said, “…Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac.

Abraham, the great Patriarch of faith, the father of all fathers, in light of the human evidence, questions God’s ability to pull this one off.  He fell on his face in laughter at the suggestion that there is something beyond the situation that might affect present realities.  He cannot begin to see how this one will work out.  This idea defies logic and all sane manner of thought.  How will God get out of this box?

Abraham was not alone.  His wife was equally cynical.  Chapter 18 reveals her state of mind.

And the Lord appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.  …”Where is your wife Sarah?”  And Abraham said, “She is in the tent.”  The Lord said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.”  And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.  Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years.  The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.  So Sarah laughed to herself saying, “After I am worn out, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?”  The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’  Is anything too hard for the Lord?”…

What is critical to see in this passage is the contrast in the view of things.  What looked hopeless and illogical to humans was in no way “too hard” for God.  God’s view of things saw far beyond the imagination of two worldly people.  The last line quoted above, the critical question, a rhetorical question really, is the whole deal.  In the crucible of life, the question is there for us to ponder as well.  Is anything too hard for the Lord?  The answer, again and again, is a resounding “No!”

Today amidst your bitterness, numbness, anger, depression, and hopelessness, hear the words of God to you, “I’ve got this one.”  You are human.  You cannot, despite your worldly accomplishments, degrees, income, toys, intelligence, …pull this off.  Some circumstances in life are there to remind you of your inability to master the universe.  You are not as big as you think.  And, God is bigger than you ever imagined.  As you question through the faithless laughter today, consider that God might be up to something despite all appearances.  Be willing to open yourself to new goals, visions, and hopes for your life and future.  In so doing, maybe, just maybe, God will surprise you and turn your doubting laugh into a full out belly laugh, full of joy and wonder at what He has done and is able to do in your life.

Counting on Him alone,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

This entry was posted on 10. March 2008 at 09:09 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.