Taking God at His Word
by Michael Clark
There’s a stencil in our living room that says,
“When you can’t see God’s hand, trust His heart.”
It serves as a constant reminder of His faithfulness
to us.
When I was battling cancer, we watched my
condition worsen, yet we didn’t give up. The sicker
I became, the more we leaned on our trust in
God’s heart and His promises toward us. We knew
He was the solution to my problem and not the
cause. We knew Him to be faithful, and we trusted
Him to see us through that hard time, just as He
had in other times in the past. Praise God, after
several months, the tumor was gone, the affected
lymph nodes were clean, and I was cancer free.
Sometimes we can’t see God’s hand in our
situation, but that doesn’t mean He isn’t there or
that He isn’t working on our behalf. Hebrews 11:11
helped shaped my understanding and approach
to looking to God and trusting Him, even when
I didn’t see immediate or tangible results. It says,
“It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have
a child, though she was barren and was too old.
She believed that God would keep his promise.”
God promised this child to Sarah in Genesis
18:9–14. The Lord and two angels in human form
visited Abraham and Sarah. During the visit, a
great promise was given to them:
“Where is Sarah, your wife?” the visitors
asked.
“She’s inside the tent,” Abraham replied.
Then one of them said, “I will return to
you about this time next year, and your
wife, Sarah, will have a son!”
Sarah was listening to this conversation
from the tent. Abraham and Sarah were
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both very old by this time, and Sarah was
long past the age of having children. So she
laughed silently to herself and said, “How
could a worn-out woman like me enjoy
such pleasure, especially when my master—
my husband—is also so old?”
Then the Lord said to Abraham, “Why
did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, ‘Can
an old woman like me have a baby?’ Is
anything too hard for the Lord? I will return
about this time next year, and Sarah will
have a son.”
The thought of having a child was laughable—
humanly speaking. But as Sarah pondered her
situation, she began to think about the other times
God had made promises to her and Abraham, and
how He had always been faithful to keep those
promises. It didn’t always happen right away, but
God always came through. So Sarah looked at her
circumstances and decided they weren’t too much
for God to overcome.
Hebrews 11:11 reveals how she moved from
laughter to motherhood. Sarah grew to believe
God would do what He had promised. She
trusted God to keep His word. Sarah had been
given a dream beyond her reasoning, but she
decided God was capable of making it happen,
and she could trust Him to be faithful in all things
concerning her.
Trust is special. It is relational. Trust is most often
spoken of in reference to another person. Are they
trustworthy? How far would you trust them? Trust
moves away from formula and looks to the person
who made the promise. The quality of their
character defines the weight their words carry.
Trust provides a place to anchor your belief
despite the things that don’t make sense. I might
not understand why my wife did something, but I
trust that she has our best interests at heart. That
trust gives me a level of confidence that allows
my heart and mind to be at peace. It answers the
“buts” and “what ifs” that otherwise bring doubt.
We can be like Sarah—we can trust God fully,
even though things don’t look that great because
we know God will do what He said He would
do. How do we know that? Because that is His
character. He is faithful. It’s who He is to you and
me. His promises have inestimable worth because
He made them.
In Genesis 21:1–7, we see what Sarah’s trust in
God produced:
The Lord kept his word and did for Sarah
exactly what he had promised. She became
pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for
Abraham in his old age. This happened at
just the time God had said it would. And
Abraham named their son Isaac…And
Sarah declared, “God has brought me
laughter. All who hear about this will laugh
with me. Who would have said to Abraham
that Sarah would nurse a baby? Yet I have
given Abraham a son in his old age!”
What a beautiful story…but it’s more than
that. It’s how God works—then and now. Just as
Sarah trusted God, you can look to Him as faithful
and trustworthy. What He has promised, He will
deliver. You can take Him at His word. ��
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