God Knows Our Private Thoughts | Daily Breakthrough Bread | September 17, 2026

TEXT

Genesis 18:9–15

KEY VERSE

“Is any thing too hard for the LORD?”

Genesis 18:14

REFLECTION

There is a world within you of which other men know very little. They may know your words, your actions, your face, and something of your habits, but they cannot see the thoughts that pass silently through your mind.

But it is not secret to God.

The Lord had spoken to Abraham concerning the birth of a son, and Sarah heard the promise. So she did not openly contradict the word of God, but simply laughed within herself.

And yet the Lord heard it.

Oh, dear Christian, oftentimes, we are very careful with the outside of our lives. We know that men are watching us, and therefore we keep certain words from our lips and certain actions from our hands. But what care do we take of that inner world where we imagine ourselves alone?

We forget that God searches the heart. Before Him, the thought is as visible as the deed, and the secret reasoning of the soul is as open as the words upon our tongue.

But mark the Lord’s question: “Wherefore did Sarah laugh?”

He does not merely say, “Sarah laughed.” He asks, “Wherefore”? What was the thought beneath the laughter?

We may sometimes be ignorant of ourselves. We may say, “I do not know why I behaved so,” but God knows. We may excuse our anger as weariness, our coldness as wisdom, our envy as discernment, and our unbelief as prudence; but God sees beneath our names and our excuses. He knows the thought beneath the thought and the motive beneath the deed.

Before God, the heart has no disguises.

And what was Sarah saying within herself? “Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?”

There was the difficulty. She looked at herself, and she saw old age. She looked at the promise, and she saw what appeared impossible. She measured the word of God by the weakness of the instrument through which the word was to be fulfilled.

And are we so different?

We do not always deny God’s power with our lips. Sometimes we deny it by our calculations. We say, “Yes, God can do great things, but not this. Yes, He can save others, but surely not this sinner. Yes, He can provide, but not in this circumstance. Yes, He can restore, but not what I have broken.”

Unbelief has many languages, and one of its favourite forms is the language of reasonable calculation.

But now comes the question which sweeps away Sarah’s calculation: “Is any thing too hard for the LORD?”

Sarah had looked at herself. God bids her look at Him.

She had counted her years. God would have her count His power.

And what shall we say to the question?

Is anything too hard for Him?

Is the sinner too vile for Him to save? Is the heart too hard for Him to soften? Is the burden too heavy for Him to sustain? Is the wound too deep for Him to heal? Is the promise too great for Him to fulfil? Is the sickness too deadly for Him to take away, or too heavy for Him to sustain us through?

You may find something too hard for you. You will find many things too hard for you. But the question is not, “Is it too hard for you?” The question is, “Is it too hard for the LORD?”

Today, let us remember that God knows our private thoughts. The laughter we hide, the doubts we conceal, the calculations we make, and the reasons we give ourselves are all open before Him.

Nothing is too hard for the LORD.

PRAYER

Lord, search my heart, expose my hidden unbelief, and teach me to trust Your power when Your promises seem impossible. Amen.

TODAY’S CHALLENGE

Read Genesis 18:9–15 again slowly today.

Pay particular attention to two questions:

“Wherefore did Sarah laugh?”

“Is any thing too hard for the LORD?”

Then bring at least one private thought, fear, doubt, or calculation that you have never expressed to anyone before God.

Do not hide it from the One who already sees it.

And where you have been measuring God’s promise by your circumstances, deliberately turn your eyes from what you are to who He is.

KEY TAKEAWAY

God sees what no man can see, and nothing is too hard for the God who sees us completely.