Beyond Your Strength

"Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him." 
    Genesis 21:5 (NIV)

I heard about an 85-year-old man who challenged the golf pro at his club. The pro bets $10,000 he can win and even offers a 12-stroke handicap; the old man declines the handicap. They play all the way to the 18th hole dead even. The old man's drive lands in a sand trap while the pro breathes easy. Then the old man steps in, knocks the ball straight into the hole, and wins. The pro walks over, stunned. "I thought you said you can't get out of sand traps." The old man grins. "I can't. Give me a hand."

There is a lot you can still do when you get old. But having a baby is not on that list. Unless God decides otherwise.

The Bible makes sure you don't forget how old Abraham and Sarah are. It says it three different ways. "Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him" (Genesis 21:5, NIV). 

The same God who lights a sun so powerful its core burns at 27 million degrees also keeps two trillion galaxies burning across the universe. And this same God steps into one elderly couple's home and gives them a baby.

That is the God behind the Gospel. You are not carrying the good news of Jesus in your own strength. You carry it through the power of the God who lit the universe on fire.

Maybe it’s a diagnosis that’s keeping you up at 3 a.m., a marriage that feels like it's held together by a thread, or the kind of tired that sleep doesn't fix. Stop and pray, "God, You're bigger!" The God who flung galaxies and gave a 90-year-old woman a baby is not stumped by what’s beyond your strength today. Pray those three words and mean them.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your endless strength and power. I need you! At times, I get through my days as if everything depends on me and I’m exhausted by noon. Remind me today that the same power that raised Jesus Christ from the grave is working in me right now. I'm not carrying this alone. God, You’re bigger! I trust You, Lord. Amen.