DAY 4 DEVOTIONAL — Is It Too Late for Me? God’s Answer May Shock You | Excuses God Didn’t Accept

Life has a way of convincing us that certain things are behind us — that the time has passed, the moment is over, and the door has closed. But God’s timing, hallelujah, doesn’t bow to our timelines.

Sarah could definitely identify with this. She wasn’t a young woman waiting on God — she was an older woman who had long accepted that certain things were no longer possible. Her body was tired. Her hope was thin. Her joy was worn down by years of waiting. To put it bluntly, she was past the natural age to get pregnant.

So when the Lord announced that she would have a child, her reaction wasn’t faith — it was laughter.

Genesis 18:12 (NIV) says: “So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, ‘After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I now have this pleasure?’”

Sarah wasn’t mocking God. She was expressing the quiet grief of someone who had stopped expecting anything new. She was saying, “God… You’re too late. I’ve already adjusted to this version of my life.”

And many of us have been there.

“I’m too old.”

“I’ve missed my chance.”

“That opportunity is gone.”

“My strength is gone.”

“It’s too late for me.”

But as we have been contrasting all week, notice how God responded. He didn’t scold her. He didn’t shame her. He didn’t call her faithless. God simply asked her a question — one that reaches into every discouraged heart: Genesis 18:14 (NIV) - “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

This wasn’t a rebuke. It was an invitation. God was lifting Sarah’s eyes off her age and placing them on His ability. He was reminding her that human timelines do not control divine promises.

What Sarah saw as “too late,” God saw as “right on time.”

And God didn’t stop there.

Genesis 21:1–2 (NIV) says: “Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said… Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.”

At the very time God had promised. Not early. Not late. Exactly when He intended.

Family, some of us have quietly given up on things God has not finished with. Hands up if that’s you. Some of us have made peace with disappointment because it feels easier than believing again. 

But can I reassure someone today, and myself as well, that God is not intimidated by the years, the delays, the setbacks, or the limitations.

Isaiah 46:11 (NIV) reassures us: “…What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”

Sarah’s story shows us that God is not bound by our age or our timeline. He is not restricted by biology. God is not hindered by history. He is not controlled by our calendar.

And just like Sarah, some of us need to hear God asking today: “Is anything too hard for Me?”

You may feel worn out. You may feel delayed. You may feel disappointed or discouraged.

Know this today: God has already factored in our age, our journey, and our timelines. He didn’t make the promise based on our youth — He made it based on His power.

What Sarah thought was too late, God turned into her testimony.

So today, we don’t have to wonder whether time has disqualified us. We just need to trust the God who holds time in His hands. 

Because when God speaks, delay does not mean denial — and what feels “too late” to us is often the very moment God chooses to move.