Focus: Divine Paradox

Text: Gen.18:12

"Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also."

God announced the incredible, and that provoked and prompted Sarah to laugh. God spoke the unheard of, the unbelievable, the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the seemingly impossible.

This is the second recorded laughter in the Bible after that of Abraham, and guess what, God was the reason for the laughter!

Sarah felt like having heard something outrageous, ridiculous and totally absurd. What's God talking about? Is this a joke or something? This is nothing short of divine nonsense. This is one of those times when God doesn't make sense. It sounds too good to be true. That is the divine paradox.

How can a woman so old as me be able to house a baby in my old and weak womb? This is sheer abnormality. Why did God allow me to get this old before coming up with this? Sex at this age when my whole system is virtually packed up! A child at 90, and to a woman with a barren womb and a dead body! That is the divine paradox!

Is this not a slip of tongue? This is really amusing. But the message of this paradox is that God truly works with absurdities and does the incredible. Even at old age you can still testify. Joy at old age is still possible. Miracle is possible even in our twilight years. God's word is the highest reality. God's truth is ultimate.

God is never late. Age is no barrier to what God can do. Barren wombs and dead bodies can't stop God. Real laughter is made possible by God. It's a divine reality. God's eternal purpose cannot be thwarted by humanly impossible circumstances. At least God can still get my attention and even get me to laugh.

Nine months after, Sarah said, "God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me" - Gen.21:6. That's what God uses His paradox to achieve. When God speaks over your head, it sounds like a contradiction in terms, but it's only a matter of time, you will see the difference God makes. Then from seeming contradictions and cacophonies God achieves harmony and symphony. Amen.

by Bishop Moses E. Peter