No — nothing is too hard for the Lord; God promised Sarah a son in her old age and fulfilled it.
Abraham was about a hundred and Sarah was ninety when God promised Isaac, and Paul later described Abraham's body as 'now dead' and Sarah's womb as dead. Yet God's word was fixed: 'Sarah shall have a son.' As Les Feldick sums it up, 'Nothing is impossible.'
Genesis 17:17 — Abraham's incredulous question exposes the human impossibility of a child at age 100 and Sarah at 90.
Genesis 17:19 — God's direct answer to Abraham proves the Lord can do what seems impossible.
Romans 4:19 — Paul explains that Abraham did not lean on his own dead body or Sarah's dead womb.
In Genesis 17:17, Abraham fell on his face and laughed, asking, 'Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?' God answered in verse 19, 'Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.' In the New Testament, Romans 4:19 says that Abraham 'considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb.' Romans 9:9 records the word of promise: 'For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.' These verses show that God's promise was not limited by age or barrenness.
Les Feldick repeatedly brings his listeners back to the impossible circumstances surrounding Isaac's birth. He notes that Abraham was 99 at the time of Isaac's conception and 100 at his birth, and Sarah was 90—so it took a miracle of God for Sarah to conceive. Paul's words in Romans 4:19 are central to Les's teaching: Abraham did not consider his own body 'now dead' nor the deadness of Sarah's womb, and he staggered not at God's promise. Les also points out that Abraham had been waiting for about 50 years, and that God's 'wheels grind slowly, but surely.' For Les, the key is the sovereignty of God. When God says 'I will,' it is a promise. In Genesis 17:19, God says Sarah will bear Isaac and that He will establish His covenant with him. Les teaches that the promise to Sarah was already set in eternity past, and that it was fulfilled by divine miracle, not human effort. He also clarifies that Abraham's laughter was a laugh of joy and worship, even though Abraham, in the energy of the flesh, still wondered whether Ishmael could be the heir. The bottom line, as Les puts it, is that 'nothing is impossible.'
Apart from God's intervention, Isaac's birth was impossible. Abraham was about a hundred years old, and Sarah's womb was 'dead' (Romans 4:19). Paul says Abraham, nevertheless, was not weak in faith. Les teaches that Sarah's conception took a miracle of God and that the word of promise—'At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son' (Romans 9:9)—was the basis for that miracle.
When Abraham heard the promise, he fell on his face and laughed, asking, 'Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?' Les is careful to say this was not a laugh of scorn or ridicule but of joy and worship. Yet Les also observes that Abraham immediately returned to the 'energy of the flesh,' suggesting Ishmael might fulfill the promise. God's answer pointed him back to Sarah and to the son He would name Isaac.
Les underlines the sovereign 'I will' of God in Genesis 17:19. God says, 'I will establish my covenant with him, Isaac, for an everlasting covenant.' Because this is the sovereign God speaking, the promise cannot fail. Les notes that the entire promise of Isaac had been set in God's purposes from eternity past, and that it was not dependent on Abraham's or Sarah's ability.
Les states directly, 'Nothing is impossible.' He applies this to the biblical hope of glory: the sufferings of this present life are nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed. The same power that gave life to Sarah's dead womb guarantees the outworking of God's promises.
The Lord Appears in Human Form
Les sets the scene at Genesis 18 where the Lord and two angels, all spirit beings in human form, sit down and feast with Abraham—showing that God is not bound by ordinary physical limitations.
Abraham's Faith Against Impossibility
Les highlights Romans 4:19: Abraham was not weak in faith even though his body was 'now dead' at about 100 and Sarah's womb was dead—he did not stagger at God's promise.
God's Timing Through 50 Years
Les reminds us that Abraham had waited nearly 50 years with nothing visible happening, but God's wheels grind slowly yet surely, and the promised child finally came.
Nothing Is Impossible
Les directly states 'Nothing is impossible' and contrasts present suffering with the glory God has promised to reveal, reinforcing that God is not limited by human frailty.
The Promise of Isaac
Les reads Genesis 17:17-19, showing Abraham's human question—'Shall a child be born unto him who is an hundred years old?'—and God's answer that Sarah, not the slave girl, would bear Isaac.
A Miracle Born of Promise
Les teaches that Sarah's conception had to be a miracle of God, and that it was the direct result of the word of promise: 'At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.'
A Laugh of Joy, Not Ridicule
Les clarifies that Abraham's laughter at the promise was a laugh of joy and worship, not scorn or ridicule.
God's Sovereign 'I Will'
Les emphasizes the sovereign God's words—'I will establish my covenant with him'—making Isaac the promised son and showing that God's purpose stands.
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?
Abraham's response highlights the human impossibility that God then overturns.
Genesis 17:19: And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.
God's direct promise to Sarah shows that nothing is too hard for the Lord.
Romans 4:19: And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb:
Paul describes Abraham's faith in the face of human impossibility.
Romans 9:9: For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son.
Paul echoes the Genesis promise, identifying it as the word of promise.
Les Feldick teaches that Abraham's laugh was a laugh of joy and worship, not scorn or ridicule. Yet Les also notes that Abraham kept returning to the 'energy of the flesh,' asking whether Ishmael could be the heir. God answered by reaffirming that Sarah would bear Isaac.
Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born, and Sarah was 90. At conception, Abraham was 99. Les points out that Sarah's womb was 'dead' and Abraham's body was 'now dead,' making Isaac's birth a miracle of God.
Les says Abraham had almost 50 years of waiting from the first promises. During that time nothing visible happened, but God's purpose came to pass in His own timing. God's wheels grind slowly but surely.
Watch the Teaching: Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord? Genesis 18 & God in Human Form