Sharing Scripture — May 21, 2022

Solar panels that garner energy without the sun? Illogical… yet, possible. Stanford researchers have found that energy can be harvested through modified solar panels via radiative cooling, that is, the coldness of space.

While there is debate over whether this will be a viable energy source for the future, it is another amazing example of how something can come from virtually nothing, and reminds us that seemingly counterintuitive solutions can bloom to fruition.

Abraham knew all too well what it was to marvel at such inconceivable notions, such as the grand covenant God made with him in Genesis 17. No one with an understanding of basic human biology would fathom that a 99-year-old woman could conceive a child, and yet Abraham was being promised a lineage more numerous than the stars in the sky or the grains of sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17).

Perhaps even more bewildering was that after birthing the miracle baby Isaac, God then demanded that the child be offered up in a human sacrifice–a show of worship totally contradictory to God’s character and to the promise of prospering Abraham’s lineage. Though likely baffled, he had seen enough evidence of God’s character to believe God would provide the real sacrifice (Genesis 22:8). As expected, God provided a sacrificial animal, a ram.

In his lifetime, the patriarch would see the fulfilment of God’s promises, as he settled permanently in the Promised Land, had many more children with his second wife, saw Isaac marry, became a father of many nations, and reached an extremely old age … all things that at first seemed impossible.

Through God, all things are made possible. So what amazing things are out there waiting for us?

Connecting: Are God’s miracles on this planet limited to the restrictions of natural science?

Applying: Have you ever prayed for something, seen it come to pass, and then wondered if it was just coincidence? Ask someone for their own experience and try to understand it together.