Sarah is just inside the door of her tent, listening intently to Abraham’s conversation with his three guests. One of the strangers asks about her by name. “Where is Sarah your wife?” Funny. How does he know her name? Abraham is a prosperous and respected tribal chieftain, though. The visitor must have heard her name somewhere.
The stranger’s next remark is absolutely ridiculous. He promises to return in the spring, and when he comes Sarah will have a baby. A son. Sarah is 89 years old! She hasn’t had a period in years. And Abraham is 99. She laughs silently. No one can see or hear her. But the visitor wants to know why she has laughed. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14).
Recognition and fear seize Sarah at the same moment. The stranger is a divine messenger with supernatural knowledge. She has just laughed at God’s word. Her pretty face pops out the tent door. I didn’t laugh, she says. “No,” the Lord answers, “you did laugh.”
Sarah isn’t the last person to laugh at God’s word. The Bible says that the Lord spoke the entire universe into existence. In six days he made the heavens, the earth, the seas, and all living things. The evolutionist is amused. God is too small for that. Only the amazing combination of endless time and incredible chance could produce the wonders of our world. The biblical notion of a personal God is funny too. How could he keep track of the thoughts and motives of seven billion people? All the suffering in the world plainly shows that earthly matters have slipped out of God’s control. That is, if God even exists.
But is anything too hard for the Lord? The answer is no. God has infinite power. He can speak the world into existence. He can number the hairs on every head. And he can give an aging woman a beautiful son. No one who smiles at God’s power will have the last laugh.