January 9
Genesis 17-18
Psalm 6:6-10
Proverbs 1:24-27
Matthew 7
Beyond Our Imagination
“The Lord said, ‘I will surely return to you about this time next year and Sarah, your wife, shall have a son.’ So, Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have this pleasure.’ ‘Is anything too hard for the Lord?’” Genesis 18:10,12,14 ESV
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” Matthew 7:7-11 NIV
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Our immediate response to this question is no, of course not! But do we really believe that? Do our actions and our prayer life reflect that we believe that? Ephesians 3:20-21 tells us that God can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, and I Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” (NIV) God’s plans for us are beyond our wildest imagination. Sarah had wanted a child for as long as she could remember. She had asked and sought and knocked and had finally given up. Then, when she heard the Lord tell Abraham that she would have a son in a year, she laughed. She couldn’t let herself believe her dream might finally come true. She couldn’t face the disappointment if she believed, and it didn’t happen.
Do we limit God because we don’t want to be disappointed? Do we fail to experience the fullness of all the plans God has for us because we fail to ask? As we spend time with the Lord in prayer and in His Word, we get to know Him more fully. The more we get to know Him, the more we realize how incomprehensible He is. He is transcendent, way beyond our capacity to imagine. When we begin to recognize who He is and who we are in Christ, it changes the way we pray. Our Father is the King of the universe. He is limitless in power and in His love for us. He not only wants what is best for us, but He has the ability to make it happen. Is anything too hard for the Lord?
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