Genesis 18:12
“Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?”
The power of influence must never be underestimated. Influence, whether good or bad, will determine someone’s future. The sad part about a bad influence is that the one influenced oftentimes never turns around; whereas, the one who does the influencing will many times turn around and do what they were supposed to do in the beginning.
One of the stories that is often mischaracterized is the story found in the verse above. When Sarah heard that she was going to have a child in her old age, the Scriptures say that she “laughed within herself.” Sarah is often the focus of many preachers and teachers because of her anemic faith, but this lack of faith did not start in the verse above. Genesis 17:17 says about Abraham, “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?” Sarah’s lack of faith was a direct result of her husband’s lack of faith. If Abraham had not allowed his faith to wane, then he could have influenced Sarah to stay strong in her faith.
The great part about this story is that Abraham’s faith grew. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son, he obeyed instead of doubting God’s Word. In fact, his strong faith influenced the weaker faith of Isaac. Genesis 22:8 says, “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.” Though there was no lamb for the sacrifice, Isaac believed God would provide one because of his father’s strong faith.
You must be very careful about influencing others in the area where your faith is weak. Just because you don’t believe it can’t happen doesn’t remove God’s ability to perform the miraculous. Instead of telling others that it can’t be done, you would be wise to trust God and allow Him to do what He says He can do. Many churches have missed the opportunity for God to bless them all because someone who had an anemic faith influenced another. Parents must be careful about their influence on their children in the areas where their faith is weak. I wonder how many adults are not serving the LORD today because of the influence of a parent’s anemic faith? You may lack faith that something can be done, but you don’t have to talk to everyone and tell them that it can’t be done.
Moreover, instead of settling that it can’t be done, why don’t you let your faith grow like Abraham did? There are many whom you could influence for good if you would learn to let your faith grow. The future of your children may rest upon you growing your faith. The future of God’s blessings on your church may be determined by whether you allow your faith to grow. The magnitude of how much God can use you totally rests upon whether you accept an anemic faith or allow your faith to grow into a greater faith.
Who are you influencing with your anemic faith? If you have influenced someone with a weak faith, you need to go to them and tell them you were wrong. Always be careful about voicing your lack of faith by saying something can’t be done. Trust God, stay strong and work hard so that God can grow your faith into a stronger faith.