Isaac was the child of promise who carried forward the promises of land, offspring and blessing God gave to Abraham. But before the promises went forward, a crisis had to be addressed. Isaac’s wife, Rebekah, could not have children (like Abraham’s wife, Sarah.)

Rebekah’s barrenness was not only tragic for the family (as painful as not being able to have children may be), but in this case, barrenness was a universal tragedy because God had promised that the removal of the curse of sin and the defeat of Satan would come through the birth of a child (Genesis 3:15), and the restoration of the world would come through Abraham’s offspring (12:1–3). The fact that Rebekah could not have children again put those promises in jeopardy.

But Isaac prayed for his wife, and God miraculously opened her womb. Are you noticing the pattern here? God used unlikely pregnancies and births to keep His promises and deliver His people – and He asked His people to trust Him in the process.

• What difficult circumstances in your life might be opportunities to trust in God?