The Promise Doesn’t Pass Us By

Abraham and Sarah have run out of time, options and good ideas, which turns out to be no obstacle for God.

After 99 years, you would think that Abram had earned the right to keep his name. He had been Abram for nearly a century. People knew him by his name. His neighbors knew it. His wife, Sarai, had been calling him “Abram” longer than either of them could remember. Anyone who has made it to age 99 should not have their name corrected.

And then, God shows up.

“When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless’” (v. 1).

And before the conversation is over, Abram is Abraham and Sarai is Sarah. God changes their names before God changes anything else.

That’s the catch to this story. Sarah is not pregnant yet. There is no nursery being prepared, no baby to be delivered, and no promise fulfilled. As far as Abraham and Sarah can tell, their circumstances are exactly the same as the day before. But God is already talking differently.

God looks at two people whose...