Posted By Michael Breznau on Mar 2, 2019

Sometimes the Bible makes me laugh. I don’t just mean a light chuckle either. I’m talking about a full-throated laugh out-loud. Have you ever experienced this in your study? Early this morning, while deep in preparation for my message this Sunday on the life of Abraham, I encountered a line I never really noticed before:

“By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore there was born even of one man [Abraham], and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” (Hebrews 11:11-12)

Ha! Sometimes you discover a familiar, colloquial phrase was originally coined in the scriptures. Lo and behold, tucked away in the Letter to the Hebrews is exhibit A. So the remark, “…and him as good as dead at that,” vividly (and humorously) points out how ancient ole’ Abraham really was. On the brink of death’s door. About ready to kick the bucket. Hobbling around with one gasp left. Of course, there’s a bit of hyperbole here to make the point of God’s power to fulfill exactly what He promised…no matter how geriatric the person may be!

Bruce Waltke, renowned Old Testament scholar, writes:

“Abraham must learn that God’s covenant partners must live in this imagination when the heavenly vision seems impossible in light of the harsh and contrary realities. Called at seventy-five years of age to this venture of faith, he must watch his own body petrify like a dead tree that has lost its sap and Sarah’s womb wither like a dead flower.”

Twenty-four more years passed before the promised son, Isaac, was born. Sometimes we forget how long that must have felt. But Abraham, though often faulty in his walk, kept stepping forward with faith in God’s covenant.

Now you may just be half Abraham’s age but feeling like you’re caught in an endless cycle of nothing-so-important. Can you identify? Do you sense a growing despondency about the outlook for 2019? Have you been caught in a doldrum of spiritual apathy – as if you’re just not going anywhere? As the wrinkles increase and gray fills in your once shimmering dark locks, do you lose sight of eternity and, instead, become more anxious about the present?

You may feel “as good as dead at that.” But according to God’s promises, He isn’t finished with you yet. Continue considering God faithful. Keep believing that what He has begun in your life will be brought to a beautiful completion in Jesus Christ.

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This Sunday, I’ll begin our new springtime sermon series at Mayfair Bible Church at 10:45 AM (even though it still looks like winter in Michigan): REBORN | Transformed in Christ! Each week we’ll discover how God transformed the life of a man or woman in the Bible and then parallel their narrative with a transformation story from someone in the Mayfair family. We can’t wait!

In Christ Alone,