New revelations. As far as the record is concerned, God waited thirteen years before He revealed Himself again to Abram. During those quiet intervening years, Abram continued to walk with God and serve Him. He did not need constant special revelations to do God’s will, nor do we. God reaffirmed His covenant and then gave Abram the sign of circumcision as the mark of that covenant. How unfortunate that many of the Jews trusted in the sign rather than in the Lord (Acts 15:5; Rom. 4:10; Gal. 5:6)! God wanted an inward change of the heart, not just surgery on the body (Deut. 10:16; Jer. 4:4).
New names. In Bible history, a new name means a new beginning, a step forward in faith. (See Gen. 32:28; John 1:40–42.) Abram means “exalted father”; it became Abraham, “father of a multitude.” Sarai (“contentious”) became Sarah, “a princess.” God even revealed a new name for Himself: God Almighty. The only name that did not change was Ishmael, for what is born of the flesh remains flesh and cannot be changed (John 3:6).
New joy. At last, the long-awaited son would be born, and his name would be “Isaac—laughter.” No wonder Abraham laughed (John 8:56). Abraham wanted to cling to his past mistake (v. 18) instead of looking to the future miracle that God would perform. Abraham and Sarah’s impatient act of unbelief had brought sorrow and division into the home, but God’s miracle of faith brought joy and peace (Rom. 15:13). It pays to trust God’s way and wait for God’s time.
God Almighty!
The Bible affirms our need to rely on God, for whom nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37): “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Gen. 18:14). “There is nothing too hard for You” (Jer. 32:17); God is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20). So, we may say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13). Lay hold of God’s power!
