📖 From the Bible
God came to visit Abraham while he was sitting in front of his tent. It was a hot day.
Abraham saw three travelers. He ran to meet them and bowed low. He said, “Stay with me! I’ll bring water so you can wash your feet. You can rest in the shade under the tree. I’ll give you something to eat.” The guests answered, “All right, do that.”
Abraham quickly asked Sarah for bread. He picked out a young, tender calf himself, and a worker prepared it. Abraham set bread, butter, milk and meat in front of the guests. They ate, and he stood next to them under the tree.
The guests asked, “Where is your wife Sarah?” Abraham answered, “In the tent.”
God said, “This time next year I will come back. Sarah will have a son.” Sarah was standing at the entrance of the tent, and she heard everything. They were both very old.
Sarah laughed quietly to herself. God asked Abraham, “Why is Sarah laughing? She thinks she’s too old to have a baby. Is anything too hard for Me? This time next year I will come back, and Sarah will have a son.”
Sarah got scared and said, “I didn’t laugh.” But God answered, “No, but you did laugh.”
1The LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. 2He lifted up his eyes and looked, and saw that three men stood near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the earth, 3and said, “(…) 4Now let a little water be fetched, wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5I will get a piece of bread so you can refresh your heart. After that you may go your way, now that you have come to your servant.” They said, “Very well, do as you have said.” (…) 9They asked him, “Where is Sarah, your wife?” He said, “There, in the tent.” 10He said, “I will certainly return to you at about this time next year; and behold, Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him. (…) 13The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am old?’ 14Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes around, and Sarah will have a son.” 15Then Sarah denied it, saying, “I didn’t laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”
This is how we tell this passage to kids. The exact words of the Bible are under “As it is in the Bible”.
The sign (…) marks a place where we left something out. The sentence in italics is ours. We never change the words of the Bible.
Genesis 18:1-15 · Scripture: World English Bible Updated (public domain)
Remember Abram? In the meantime, God gave him a new name: Abraham. That’s an important story, but today isn’t about that. Today is about waiting. God had promised Abraham that his family would become big. There was just one problem. Abraham and his wife Sarah had no children. And the years kept going by. Have you ever waited for something so long that you stopped believing it would happen?
It happened to Abraham and Sarah, too. They waited and waited. Finally they tried to fix things their own way. They came up with all kinds of schemes. And nothing good came of it, just arguments and tears. That’s a story for another day.
Many more years went by. Abraham was almost a hundred, and Sarah was almost ninety. One day Abraham was sitting in front of his tent in the hottest part of the day. If you’ve ever been somewhere really hot in the summer, it was that kind of heat. Or even hotter! Suddenly he saw three travelers. These were not ordinary guests. The Bible says that this was how God Himself came to visit him. Abraham ran to meet them and bowed low. He invited them into the shade. He had water brought so they could wash their tired feet. He asked Sarah for fresh bread. He also had the best meat he owned prepared for them. A real feast!
The guests ate and rested. Then God said something strange: “Sarah your wife will have a son.” Sarah heard it from behind the tent. She laughed quietly to herself. After all, they were both very old! It’s kind of like your grandma saying she’s going to have a baby. Wait, what?! Then God asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Will I really bear a child when I am old?’” And He added, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Sarah got scared and said she hadn’t laughed at all. But God said, “No, but you did laugh.”
A year later, Isaac was born, just as God had promised. Sarah laughed again. But this time it was from happiness. She said, “God has made me laugh.” The promise didn’t come true because of clever plans. It came true because God keeps His word.
Did you know?
From the day Abraham heard the first promise until Isaac was born, twenty-five years went by. At the start, Abraham was seventy-five. When Isaac was born, he was exactly a hundred. God Himself picked the name Isaac, before the baby was even born. Sarah first laughed because she couldn’t believe it. Then she laughed because she was so happy. Doubt turned into joyful laughter.
Look at Jesus
Many years later, an angel told Mary that she would have a baby, Jesus. Mary asked how that could happen. The angel said, “For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” It’s almost the same thing Abraham and Sarah heard. God kept His promise again. Jesus came into the world because God keeps His word.
What about you?
Maybe you’re waiting for your mom or dad to say yes to a cat, a new bike, or a trip to camp. Waiting is hard! The easy thing is to whine and ask every five minutes. Try something different. Do what you can do right now. Read up on how to take care of a pet. Save some of your allowance. Help out at home without being reminded. And tell God, “I’m really looking forward to this. Help me wait patiently.” Waiting is easier when you’re doing something good in the meantime.
Let’s talk about it
- What have you waited for the longest? How does waiting feel for you?
- What did Abraham and Sarah do when waiting got too long? Try to remember from the story.
- What can you do while you wait for an answer from your mom or dad, or from friends? Or can you think of something else?
Today’s challenge
Pick one thing you’re waiting for. Do one small thing today that brings you closer to it. Then tell God about it.
Prayer
God, waiting can be hard. Help me wait patiently and not whine. I want to do what I can and trust You. Thank You that nothing is too hard for You. Amen.
Tap when you have prayed.