Then Abraham took butter, milk, and the calf that had been prepared, put the foot in front of them, and stood under the tree near them as they ate.  They said to him, “Where is your wife, Sarah?”  And he said: “Right here in the tent.”  Then one of the men said, “I will definitely return to you about this time next year.  Then your wife, Sarah, will have a son!”  Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.  Now Abraham and Sarah were both very old.  Sarah was no longer menstruating.  So Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, I’m no longer able to have children and my husband’s old.  The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Me give birth?  At my age?’  Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”

Is anything too difficult for the Lord?  Ha!  Or in the language of texting and social media, LOL!  Faithful Abram, Believing Abraham, ran into a big problem in his journey with God.  In his old age, Abraham is promised an heir, a son.  In her old age, Sarah will be blessed (haha) with a child.  And their reaction is predictable … laughter.  Did Abraham believe?  No!  Did Sarah have faith?  No!  They laughed!  Not because they didn’t believe in God or trust in God, but because their focus was off!  Instead of focusing in God’s power, Abraham and Sarah focused on their abilities … or lack thereof.  At 90, Abraham wasn’t a prime candidate for fatherhood.  And neither was Sarah being considered for mother of the year.  They were has-beens.  But is anything too difficult for God?

In the tiny village of Nazareth in Galilee, an angel appeared to a young peasant girl.  He told her that she was going to be a mother!  I wonder if Mary laughed.  After all, it was pretty funny!  Mary was a young teenager.  She was a virgin, engaged to be married.  She had to know where babies come from and she would have immediately known she was not a prime candidate for motherhood.  “How can this be?” she asked.  You see, Mary didn’t believe – not because she didn’t trust God or believe in God, but because her focus was wrong.  She focused on her abilities … or lack thereof.  How can this be?  And the angel responded: “With God, nothing will be impossible!”  Is anything too difficult for God?

Jesus called them to be with Him and to be sent out to proclaim the Good News!  I wonder if they laughed!  Them?  Fishers of Men?  Hardly!  They were fishermen; they were tax collectors; they were common sheep farmers.  How could they proclaim the Good News?  How can we?  We stutter to find the right words!  We trip over our greatest theological concepts.  We have our preconceived ideas, our prejudices, our plans and agendas!  How can we proclaim the Good News?  How can we make disciples!  How can we be useful to God?  We’re too young or too old or too ______ (Fill in the blank)!  But is anything too difficult for God?

The great truth that we will never be able to escape is that this life isn’t about “ME”!  It really is about GOD!  I am not the hope of glory, but Christ in me is!  I can’t preach, teach, serve, witness, disciple, love, minister, etc. etc.  But Christ in me can!  Pentecost, the infilling and indwelling of the Holy Spirit, means that, in my life, I can accomplish that which God calls me to do.  Because nothing is too difficult for God!  Surely, with God, nothing will be impossible!  Thanks be to God!