The Lord is actually asking Abraham this question when he wonders how some of the blessings he has been promised might be accomplished in his life. Abraham and Sarah desire to have children. The Lord promises that Abraham will be a father of many nations, even though they have not been able to have children. In her old age Sarah has Issac. The Lord then asks Abraham to sacrifice this, his only son. This can't make sense - how will the Lord fulfill his previous promises when this direction seems in direct contradiction? The Lord prepares the way. Nothing is too hard for Him.
In the next generation, in what seems like an unbelievable leap of faith, Rebekah agrees to go with the servant of Isaac. She marries him. He is blessed because he follows the instructions of the Lord to search for a wife in the covenant. The servant wonders how he will ever convince someone to come, but again the Lord prepares the way and after trials also blesses Isaac and Rebekah with two sons.
We see similar struggles again for Jacob as he searches for a wife and then as he and Rachel desire children....and then in Genesis 30:22, "God remembered Rachel." Seventeen years later, Jacob's beloved son Joseph is sold by his brothers as a slave. He is later imprisoned, but the Lord was with him (see Genesis 39:21) and all of these trials and afflictions were a part of the Lord's plan for him to be able to bless and help his family later (see Genesis 45:5-8).
These are remarkable stories and examples of the Lord's plan to bless and prosper His children....even in their afflictions. We know that these stories and miracles continue as Moses parts the Red Sea. These stories also sound a lot like the stories of the Book of Mormon. Consider Nephi's responses to get the brass plates and build a ship:
- 1 Nephi 3:7: "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
- 1 Nephi 17:50-51: "And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done. And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?"
We can also remember the words of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1:37, "For with God nothing shall be impossible."
I love these verses. I love these stories. I love these examples. I love the Lord who makes all things possible, especially fulfillment of His promises even when they seem unreachable. In an October 2007 talk, Claim the Exceeding Great and Precious Promises, Elder Spencer J. Condie taught:
"The Apostle Peter testified that 'the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering' toward us. In this age of one-hour dry cleaning and one-minute fast-food franchises, it may at times seem to us as though a loving Heavenly Father has misplaced our precious promises or He has put them on hold or filed them under the wrong name. Such were the feelings of Rachel.
"But with the passage of time, we encounter four of the most beautiful words in holy writ: 'And God remembered Rachel.' And she was blessed with the birth of Joseph and later the birth of Benjamin. There are millions on earth today who are descendants of Joseph who have embraced the Abrahamic promise that through their efforts 'shall all the families of the earth be blessed, even with the blessings of the Gospel, which are the blessings of salvation, even of life eternal.'.
"When heaven’s promises sometimes seem afar off, I pray that each of us will embrace these exceeding great and precious promises and never let go. And just as God remembered Rachel, God will remember you."
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