“Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” — Genesis 18:14
Sarah had given up. Who could blame her? She was nearly ninety. Her body had long since passed childbearing years, and the long wait for a promised child had turned into a quiet resignation. When she first heard God’s renewed promise, she laughed—but not the joyful kind. *”Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have become old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?’”* (Genesis 18:12).
It was the laughter of disappointment. The kind that covers pain with sarcasm. The kind we use when we don’t want to admit we’re still hoping, still aching. But God heard it. And God responded—not with rebuke, but with a question: “Is anything too difficult for the LORD?” (Genesis 18:14).
That question still confronts us when hope feels foolish. When years pass and prayers remain unanswered. When we feel too old, too broken, too late. But the answer is always the same: Nothing is too difficult for Him.
By the next year, Sarah had a son. And this time, she laughed again—but with joy. *”God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me”* (Genesis 21:6). Isaac’s name literally means “he laughs.” Her pain was not forgotten, but it was transformed. God didn’t just fulfill the promise—He redeemed the years of longing. He turned a barren place into a harvest.
And Sarah’s inclusion in Hebrews 11 confirms what God saw in her: “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised” (Hebrews 11:11). Even with all her doubts, her weariness, and her laughter of disbelief—she considered Him faithful. That is the turning point.
Finishing well doesn’t mean you never wavered. It means that, in the end, you trusted Him.
There are parts of us that we assume are done—that we’ve closed the book on. Dreams that feel too late to revive. Hopes we buried out of survival. But God isn’t finished with us when we feel finished. He’s just waiting for the moment when it’s undeniably His doing.
Sarah’s story reminds us: God can still bring life to barren places. And He delights to turn tears into laughter.
So don’t bury your longing too quickly. God may still want to do something that makes you laugh again—with joy.
Further Reading
Genesis 21:6 — “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”
Romans 4:18 — “In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations.”
Hebrews 11:11 — “By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive… since she considered Him faithful who had promised.”
Reflection Questions
1. Where have you quietly given up hope in your heart?
2. What would it mean for you to “consider Him faithful” in that area today?
3. Can you imagine laughing again with joy over something that now feels dead?
Suggested Prayer\
Lord, revive my hope where it’s grown cold. Help me believe that nothing is too difficult for You. Turn my quiet disappointment into joyful laughter—because You are faithful.
This devotional is excerpted from Full of Sap and Very Green by D.C. Robertsson.
