Genesis 18: Is Anything Too Hard For God?

“Now the Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre, while he was sitting at the tent door in the heat of the day. And when he lifted up his eyes and looked…. “

I like this for some reason. Abraham was relaxing in the heat of the day. Doing an ordinary thing… nothing amazingly spiritual was happening… no bands of praise… no singing… no great event… just sitting in the heat of the day. Abraham must have always had a “God” consciousness… and God felt welcomed by him at any time… and not only welcomed… but God also, obviously, wanted to visit Abraham’s household. Is my home “inviting” to God? Is my attitude? Is my life?

(Leslie Anderson, Pulling Weeds, shantiart.com)

Abraham recognized God immediately… and he RAN to Him. 

When I’m involved in my daily, often boring, routine… do I recognize God? Do I recognize Him in the little things of everyday? Or do I feel there has to be something significant going on at the moment? Do I have to get myself “prepared” or “in the mood” to see God? To recognize Him? And when I do see Him in my “everyday” do I RUN to meet Him? Do I drop everything and run and bow to the earth? Or do I think “not now Lord… there’s much to be done.” May that never happen.. and may God forgive me if it does.

vs. 3: “My Lord, if NOW I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.” How many times has God wanted to stop and visit me… but I said, whether verbally or with my attitude, “Not now, Lord.” If NOW I have found favor in your sight… I pray that at any given moment I can say “If NOW I’ve found favor … please do not pass me by.” How many times have I been passed by when God roamed… because at that moment I didn’t find favor.   Abraham longed for nothing more than to offer rest and to be a servant.  May that be me.

So God is here and He announces that the time is near… that the next year at this time Sarah would have a baby. Sarah laughed “within herself.” Doesn’t say she laughed so anyone could hear her. But God did. And He knew her spirit. God knows MY spirit that intimately as well. He knows all of our spirits… He gave Cain a warning about what was happening in his spirit. And He heard the laughter in Sarah’s. Does God hear my spirit laugh? Does He hear its sobs? Its cries? Its silent screams?  He is EVER NEAR… He hears. 


So Sarah basically says… “Hey.. .Abraham and I are both old and I can’t imagine that EITHER of us could physically find pleasure in each others’ company.” (my paraphrase).  

And THIS… THIS part I LOVE.   God responds with “WHY did Sarah laugh?? Is anything too difficult for the LORD?  Is ANYTHING too hard?? Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the vast impossibility that is my current situation.  But when I read that verse… “IS ANYTHING TOO DIFFICULT FOR GOD?” It shuts me up… immediately… I can only sit in awe and ponder.

The next line is KEY. “At the appointed time… I will return to you.”  At the appointed time. Wow. Abraham had been given the promise from God when he was in his 70′s.  Now he is 99.  And it’s STILL not time??  

God definitely has HIS times and HIS seasons. If we had a season chart it would be SO helpful. But God has his APPOINTED times. He knows exactly when the promise should be fulfilled in our lives. He knows what can stop us from reaching our potential. He knows if something happens too soon we might get distracted and go another way. I would be happy to work with God’s timeline if He would just clue me in.


Sarah denied her laughter out of fear. Perhaps thinking she could get away with it because she laughed within herself. God didn’t chastise her. He simply corrected her.

God debated momentarily whether or not He should tell Abraham what He was about to do to Sodom. But before He administered the punishment, He was going to check out the city to see if it was as bad as “its” cry. What cried out?? The righteous people? I always wonder about that… While God stayed and reasoned with Abraham, the angels went on ahead.

God reasons with Abraham and intercedes on behalf of the people. Probably not just because his nephew Lot was there… but because Abraham had a righteous heart. A sort heart. A heart with a burden and a love for people. 

Can you imagine saying to God… “Far be it for you to do such a thing?” But here we are given a glimpse into how God protects His own. Abraham begs Him not to treat the righteous and the wicked the same. And in verse 26 God is willing to spare the wicked for the sake of the righteous few. As we will see in the next chapter… God does NOT spare the city.. but He spares Lot and his family.