Christian hope

You Can’t Gain What’s Already Given 

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Two hands exchanging a wrapped gift with a red ribbon, depicting a moment of giving.

Genesis 26:34–28:9

We humans have a remarkable ability to complicate life. Even our best intentions can get tangled in mixed motives. The ancient story of Isaac, Rebekah, Esau, and Jacob is more than a family drama; it’s a mirror. Their home was fractured by favoritism, fear, and grasping, and in that fractured environment each person tried to secure something through schemes that could never deliver what God had already promised.

The central truth is simple: you can’t gain what God has already given.

Isaac knew God had chosen Jacob, the younger son, to receive the family blessing (Genesis 25:23). Esau had even sold his birthright to Jacob (Genesis 25:29–34). Yet Isaac still tried to bend God’s plan toward his personal preferences. Esau joined in, hoping to reclaim what he had willingly given away. Both wanted the wrong thing for the wrong reasons.

Rebekah and Jacob, on the other hand, wanted the right thing but in the wrong way. God had already declared Jacob would be blessed, yet fear convinced Rebekah she needed to “help” God along. Jacob followed her lead, lying, deceiving, and even invoking God’s name to secure what was already his (Genesis 27:20). Their plan worked but at a devastating cost. The family fractured further. Esau burned with rage. Jacob fled hundreds of miles from home. Rebekah likely never saw her son again.

Nothing gained. Much lost.

The turning point comes when Isaac realizes what has happened. Instead of fighting, he finally surrenders: “Yes, and he shall be blessed” (Genesis 27:33). In that moment, Isaac stops grasping and starts trusting. Hebrews later calls this an act of faith (Hebrews 11:20), not the accidental blessing but the repentance that followed. Isaac finally aligned himself with God’s better plan.

We live in a world just as fractured: families strained, communities divided, hearts anxious. And in that environment, we too are tempted to grasp, manipulate, or force outcomes. But the story reminds us: God’s purposes don’t need our schemes. They need our trust.

And here is where God’s great plan of redemption shines hope.

When Jesus was crucified, many believed the schemers had won: the liars, manipulators, and power‑grabbers. But while the schemers were crucifying Jesus, God was using his death for something else: to forgive our grasping, our fear, our attempts to seize what only he can give. His resurrection declares that the blessing we most need, such as grace, forgiveness, and a sure and certain future, is already offered freely. Have you received it?

This week, consider where you may be grasping instead of trusting. And consider how you might help someone else discover the freedom of receiving what God has already given.

Is Anything Too Wonderful for God?

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Genesis 18:1–15

Every once in a while, a passage of Scripture meets us right where our hopes have given up. Genesis 18:1-15 is one of those passages. Abraham and Sarah have lived for decades with a promise from God. A promise not just of a child, but of a whole covenant future: a people, a land, and blessing for the world. But without a son, none of it can move forward. This isn’t a generic story about infertility; it’s about whether God will keep the very promise on which his redemptive plan rests.

The scene breaks into the ordinary. Abraham is resting in the heat of the day when three mysterious visitors appear. Genesis tells us that “the LORD appeared,” yet Abraham sees three men. However we understand these visitors, the point is clear: God has drawn near. And Abraham responds like a man who has been shaped by years of God’s gracious invitations. He runs, he bows, he prepares a feast far beyond what he offers in words. His hospitality mirrors the hospitality God has shown him.

But the heart of the story lies inside the tent, where Sarah listens as one of the visitors says, “About this time next year… Sarah shall have a son.” She laughs! Not the laugh of mockery, but the protective laugh of someone who has been disappointed before. She knows her age. She knows the long ache of waiting. And she knows how painful it is to hope again.

Many of us know that laugh. We hear promises of forgiveness, renewal, or resurrection, and something in us whispers, “Don’t get your hopes up.” Sometimes skepticism is just a shield.

Then comes the question that echoes down through the generations: “Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?” It’s not a rebuke. It’s a wake‑up call. The God who formed galaxies, who judged the world in Noah’s day, who scattered human pride at Babel, this God is not limited by our timelines or our tired expectations. And in the fullness of time, he would go even further than Sarah’s miracle, bringing life into the world through a virgin’s womb.

At the end of the passage, God insists that Sarah remember her laughter. Not to shame her. But so that when the promised child arrives, she will see just how far God has gone to keep his word.

Open a Bible and read Genesis 18:1–15 for yourself. Let that question linger: “Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?”

Glory that Surpasses Suffering (Romans 8:18-25)

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I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18-25

When I was a Youth Director, my good friend and mentor was diagnosed with breast cancer. Miss Debby, as she was affectionately called, had been the Christian Education Director and director of the church’s daycare and school for decades. She never married or had any children of her own. Her life was fully dedicated to Christ and nurturing children and adults alike. Miss Debby suffered two rounds of chemo over the next year. It was hard on her. It was hard for us to watch. Continue reading →