Genesis 17:17 Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear? 18 And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!
With the passage of time, it may seem as if the promise of God to us becomes less plausible, as we look to our own futile efforts to save ourselves. Righteousness by faith stands as a bulwark in an evil world, and that against all odds, because it focuses our attention on God alone, not on our own feeble efforts.
That last passage, verse 18 in particular, suggests to us that the promise of God now seems so unlikely, that Abraham suggests a substitute of his own, that God should, and could work with. It is worthy of our utmost consideration that when God had first made the promise to Abraham, he fully believed.
It was only afterward, with the passage of several years, that his faith in the promise was shaken. That very same scenario is often to be found, where the righteousness by faith might begin to seem unlikely with the passage of time, because of our inability to save ourselves.
Genesis 17:15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!