GOD IS YOUR SOURCE!

 Max Lucado writes about Abram and Sarai:   [Experiencing the Heart of Jesus, pp.110]

"Let's now consider the case of Sarai.  She's in her golden years, but God promises her a son.  She gets excited.  She visits the maternity shop and buys a few dresses.  She plans her shower and remodels her tent...but no son.  She eats a few birthday cakes and blows out a lot of candles...still no son.  She goes through a decade of wall calendars...still no son.  

Finally, fourteen years later, when Abram is pushing a century of years and Sarai ninety...when the wallpaper in the nursery has faded and the baby furniture is several seasons out of date...when the topic of the promised child brings sighs and tears and long looks into a silent sky...God pays them a visit and tells them that they had better select a name for their new son.  

Abram and Sarai have the same response:  laughter.  They laugh partly because it is too good to happen and partly because it might.  They laugh because they have given up hope, and hope born anew is always funny before it is real.

They laugh at the lunacy of it all.

Abram looks over at Sarai - toothless and snoring in her rocker, head back and mouth wide open, as fruitful as a pitted prune and just as wrinkled.  And he cracks up.  He tries to contain it, but he can't.  He has always been a sucker for a good joke.

Sarai is just as amused.  When she hears the news, a cackle escapes before she can contain it.  She mumbles something about her husband's needing a lot more than what he's got and then laughs again.

They laugh because that is what you do when someone says he can do the impossible.  They laugh a little at God, and a lot with God - for God is laughing, too.  Then, with the smile still on his face, he gets busy doing what he does best - the unbelievable.

He changes a few things - beginning with their names.  Abram, the father of one, will now be Abraham, the father of a multitude.  Sarai, the barren one, will now be Sarah, the mother."  

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It reminds me of Winston Churchill's famous quote:  "Never give in.  Never, never, never, never give in."

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We must continually trust God and believe that God knows what He is doing and His timing is perfect!  

Back when I was in my mid-forties, I was driven by depression as a result of financial distress.  I had come to realize that I would NEVER be out of debt.  In the early 90's, we were sixty thousand dollars in debt, and that didn't involve a home!  We were doling out payments like a professional juggler!  A parishoner friend, Ron, spoke truth to me.  He said, "Pastor, you look at the church as your source.  You need to understand that God is your Source!"  Then, he began teaching me - along with Larry Burkett - about a biblical view of finances.  Later, Dave Ramsey also became our teacher.  We began to trust the Lord and operate on the principles taught in His Word.  It took discipline and faith and some years, but gradually we achieved our goal!  DEBT-FREE!  I think they heard me shout in three counties!  To us, it had all the qualities of a miracle!   Today, we're retired in a home we own.  We own three vehicles, a camper, and a cabin at the campground.  We're still debt-free.  We're able to be generous with others and strongly support ministries that we favor.  THANKS BE TO GOD!

What impossible thing are you looking at?  What do you think will NEVER happen?  What holds you back from joy?  What drives your depression?  

Turn it over to God!  Get a teacher who can walk with you through the chaos.  Begin to search His Word for direction. Pray for help!   Laugh with God at what you think is impossible!  Watch Him begin to work in your life to bring about what you thought would never happen...