She Laughed

She laughed. Can you believe that?

Let me catch you up. My morning chronological Bible plan had me engrossed once again in the story of Sarah and Abraham in the book of Genesis. If you ever want to be reminded that you're not the only one to mess up, doubt God, or just be plain stupid, go read the story of these two. I love them, but they had their absolute fair share of human moments {don't we all?}.

As I was reading the story {found in Genesis 18}, I couldn't help but correlate the state of Sarah's heart with my own. She had unfulfilled longings and desires in her heart just like me. Oh how she longed and desired for a child of her own. God had made all these promises to them, and I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she was probably a little over it. She was NINETY YEARS OLD. I know things were different back then, but even in these verses, Sarah says for herself that she is so far past childbearing age that it is laughable. Which is exactly what she did when she was eavesdropping on Abraham and God's conversation. She laughed. Not the overflowing of joy type of laugh but the you have got to be kidding me type of laugh.

Let it be known that I'm taking some liberties with my interpretation of this story and am allowing God to use this to help me move forward in my journey toward contentment. I think Sarah temporarily forgot who God is and all that He had done previously in their lives. She saw her circumstance as the world sees it. She had missed the window of opportunity. She had even gone so far as to give her own maidservant over to her husband to try and fulfill God's promise on her own. hmmm ... sounds familiar.

I know the promises God has made, and number one on the list today is Psalm 37:4. Bet you've heard it before. And I also bet you've heard it misused before.

"Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart" {NIV}

The whole verse is meant to pull us in, because we are human and want for things that will not fulfill us. God knows we will turn to that verse and only see that God will give us the desires of our heart while we choose to ignore the part where He says take delight in me. When we take delight in Him {which today I feel like for me delighting in Him means finding my contentment in Him}, our desires automatically match His desires.

Sometimes I feel like as I move further into my twenties {mid-twenties currently/soon to be late twenties}, the culture's expectations of my life schedule makes me feel like Sarah. Let's face it. In the South, married at 22 is the norm. Unmarried at 25: not normal. I feel like Sarah with unfulfilled longings for the expected life, but that's not really what I want. I want true and full contentment in God and what He has planned for my life. I don't want to laugh like Sarah did. I want to laugh like the Proverbs 31 woman as it says "she is clothed with strength and dignity; she can {laugh} at the days to come." NIV, Emphasis mine

If you keep reading in Genesis, you see that God had a plan for Sarah and Abraham. She may have laughed, but God showed her who is in control. God did come through on His promises. He will come through on His promises in my life and your life. He is faithful. He will never fail me or you. He loves me and you. So much so that He sent His one and only son to die on a cross for my sins. for your sins. That we might have a relationship with Him.

I think I just said it right there. There's my contentment.

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{This series is a part of a writing challenge given by the nester, Myquillyn Smith, to write for 31 Days. You can check the write31days website out here and enjoy hundreds of other bloggers joining together for this challenge. My posts are a part of my personal topic choice of 31 Days of Contentment, and you can find the link for the entire series here.}