Children's Bread

God Has Made Me Laugh | Overcoming Unbelief

Written By

Joyce Macharia | BBI Prayer Watch

Published On

February 22, 2026

"Are you hiding in a tent of unbelief? Discover how Sarah moved from mockery to a miracle in Genesis 18. Learn how to change your spiritual posture for a divine encounter."

IN the heat of the day, at the terebinth trees of Mamre, a miraculous shift occurred for a family that had been waiting decades for a promise. Genesis 18 is not just a story of hospitality; it is a spiritual blueprint for how we should position ourselves to receive from God.

Abraham was sitting at the tent door. This detail is crucial. He was not tucked away in the shadows of the interior; he was at the threshold, watching and waiting. When three men appeared, Abraham didn’t just offer a polite greeting. He ran to meet them and bowed himself to the ground.

The Posture of Expectation

Abraham possessed the Posture of Expectation. Even though these visitors appeared as men, Abraham had a "knowing" in his spirit. This sensitivity allowed him to recognize the presence of the LORD before a single word was spoken.

Why does posture matter?

Sensitivity: Abraham was alert enough to see the divine in the ordinary.
Humility: He bowed to the ground, acknowledging that he was a servant in the presence of the King.
Generosity: He didn't offer a "morsel" as he suggested; he prepared a feast of fine meal and a tender calf. He gave God his absolute best.

The Mystery of Man: Why is God Mindful of Us?

When we see the LORD—the Creator of the Heavens—sitting under a tree eating butter, milk, and calf, we must ask the question posed in Psalm 8:4: "What is man that You are mindful of him?"

The humility of God is staggering. He made us a little lower than the angels, yet He crowned us with glory and honor, giving us dominion over the works of His hands. In Genesis 18, we see the King of Kings waiting patiently for a meal to be prepared. This reveals a Good, Good Father who is not in a hurry to leave us. He visits us, He waits for us, and He communes with us.

As Psalm 16:11 declares, "In Your presence is fullness of joy." Abraham understood that if the LORD passed him by, he would miss the very path of life.

The Tent of Doubt: Where is Sarah?

While Abraham was outside in the sun, positioned for a miracle, Sarah was hidden inside the tent. This physical separation reflected a deeper spiritual reality.

Hiding from the Promise

When the LORD asked, "Where is Sarah your wife?" it was not because He didn't know. Like the question asked of Adam in the Garden—"Where are you?"—it was an invitation for Sarah to reveal her posture.

Sarah was listening from behind the tent door. She was close enough to hear the promise, but too far away to participate in the presence. Many of us live our lives "in the tent." We go to church, we hear the sermons, and we listen to the prophecies, but we stay behind the veil of our past disappointments.

The Laugh of Mockery

When the LORD declared, "Sarah your wife shall have a son," Sarah laughed within herself. This wasn't a laugh of joy; it was a laugh of mockery and unbelief.

The Stronghold: Sarah looked at her age (90) and Abraham’s age (100). Her logic had become a prison.
The Question of Doubt: "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure?"
The Correction: The LORD immediately challenged her: "Is anything too hard for the LORD?"

Unbelief makes you question God's character. It creates a mental stronghold that says, "It’s too late for me." But God’s promises are not dependent on your biology; they are dependent on His faithfulness.

Breaking the Spirit of Unbelief in the Nation

There is a profound lesson here for the Body of Christ and the nation of Kenya. We often find ourselves in a season of "prolonged waiting" where the promises of God start to feel like a mockery. We see the state of our nation, the economy, and our personal struggles, and we begin to laugh like Sarah—bitterly and in secret.

Repentance for Our Posture

We must confess and repent for the times we have lacked spiritual maturity.

We have lacked the sensitivity to know when God is visiting our land.
We have allowed doubt to create strongholds in our nation, making it hard to trust the Word of God.
We have treated God’s presence as "ordinary" and stayed hidden in our "tents" of fear instead of coming out to meet Him.

The Transformation: From Mockery to Isaac

Something shifted between Genesis 18 and Genesis 21. Hebrews 11:11 reveals the secret: "By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed... because she judged Him faithful who had promised."

Sarah eventually came out of the tent. She stopped looking at her "dead" circumstances and started looking at the "Faithful God." The result? Isaac. * Isaac means "Laughter." * God took her secret laugh of doubt and turned it into a public laugh of testimony.

Genesis 21:6: "God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me."

The joy God gives is contagious. When He finally moves in your life or your nation, the laughter will not just be for you; it will spread joy to everyone who hears of His goodness.

Prophetic Supplication for Kenya

Are you wondering, "Is it really working? Will it come to pass?" The questions never end when we look at the natural world. But remember Nahum 1:9: "He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time." When God decides to move, His work is final.

Let us pray: FATHER, help our unbelief! Give us the faith we need as Your servants to fulfill the purpose You have placed in our lives concerning our beautiful land of Kenya. We ask the Holy Spirit to give us a message of faith (1 Cor 12) to trust that what You have spoken, You will perform.

Declaration of Faith

WE CALL OUT every servant in our nation hiding behind the tent! Come out and meet the LORD. We declare that the "Time of Life" has come for every dead promise. We thank You, Lord, that You are always working for our good and that Your promises are Yes and Amen!

Empowering you to live victoriously by identifying and breaking invisible barriers in your life

Galatians 3:13

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Common Questions

Being born again secures your salvation—your sins are forgiven, and you belong to Christ. You don’t need deliverance to be saved.

However, even as a believer, you can still struggle with patterns, strongholds, or spiritual oppression from the past. Deliverance isn’t about salvation; it’s about applying Jesus’ freedom to those areas. If you experience ongoing struggles, prayer, renunciation, and pastoral support can help you walk fully in the liberty Christ has already won for you.
Breaking a generational curse, in a religious sense, is seen as a spiritual journey of repentance, faith, and deliberate action. It begins with acknowledging sin—both one’s own and, in some beliefs, the lingering effects of ancestors’ wrongdoing—and turning away from it through heartfelt repentance and prayer. This recognition is often accompanied by a conscious renunciation of the curse, verbally declaring that one no longer accepts the negative patterns or misfortunes that may have been passed down through the family line.

Faith plays a central role in this process. Believers rely on the power of God to intervene, heal, and restore, trusting that divine authority can break spiritual strongholds that have persisted for generations. Prayer, sometimes accompanied by fasting, Scripture reading, or intercession from spiritual leaders, is used to call on God’s guidance and protection.
When we receive salvation, our spirit is redeemed immediately. Our sins are forgiven, we are justified, and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:1; Ephesians 1:13–14). Salvation restores our relationship with God and secures eternal life.

However, the curses or effects of sin in the world—sickness, generational patterns, fear, poverty, or emotional wounds—are not always broken automatically. The reason is that while our spirit is saved, our body, mind, and circumstances still exist in a fallen world under the consequences of sin (Romans 8:20–22).
If you struggle with something but generally overcome it, it is not necessarily a spirit. The Bible shows that even faithful believers wrestle with sin and weakness—Paul himself admitted in Romans 7:15–20 that he struggled to do what was right even as he desired to obey God. A true “spirit” or demonic stronghold is usually characterized by persistent, overpowering opposition that cannot be resisted through prayer, Scripture, and obedience.

If you are able to resist, repent, and grow despite the struggle, it is more likely an area God is using to refine your character and strengthen your faith. Struggles can reveal patterns in our lives that need God’s grace, teaching us dependence on Him, humility, and perseverance. Victory is not about perfection; it is about continuing to walk in obedience, relying on God’s Word, and trusting His Spirit to lead you forward.
Yes, according to Scripture, the human spirit can be influenced, but it’s important to be precise about what that means. The Bible teaches that we are spirit, soul, and body (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The “spirit man” is the part of us that connects with God, discerns spiritual truths, and communes with Him (John 4:24; Romans 8:16).

A demonic spirit cannot possess the spirit of a born-again believer because the Holy Spirit indwells them (1 Corinthians 6:19; 1 John 4:4). The Spirit of God protects and fills the spirit man, so it cannot be taken over. However, the spirit man can be influenced or oppressed by external spiritual forces if there is neglect, unrepented sin, or agreement with lies, which can affect our thoughts, emotions, and will.

Satan and his spirits can tempt, deceive, and oppress, but they cannot inhabit the spirit of someone truly born again. That’s why Scripture emphasizes guarding your heart and mind, staying in God’s Word, and walking in obedience—this keeps your spirit man aligned with God and resistant to attack (Ephesians 6:10–18; James 4:7).
consequences of sin, wrongdoing, or negative behavior can extend beyond an individual and affect their descendants. In this context, a generational curse is not merely about inherited traits or family patterns in a psychological sense, but rather a spiritual or moral consequence passed down through family lines.

For example, the Bible mentions in several passages, such as Exodus 20:5 and Numbers 14:18, that the sins of the parents can affect their children “to the third and fourth generation.” This is often interpreted to mean that unrepented sin or disobedience to God can create spiritual or circumstantial burdens like poverty, addiction, illness, or relational strife that may continue to manifest in subsequent generations.

Religious teachings often emphasize that generational curses are not inevitable. Through repentance, prayer, faith, and obedience to God, it is believed that individuals can break these curses and restore spiritual blessings to themselves and their descendants. In Christian practice, this might involve confession, seeking deliverance through prayer, or living a life aligned with God’s commandments to end the cycle of negative spiritual influence.
Feeling anger is not automatically a “spirit.” Anger is a natural emotion that God Himself expresses in certain circumstances (Exodus 32:10; Psalm 7:11). What matters is how you handle it. If you feel angry but do not act in sin, controlling your words, thoughts, and actions, this is not a demonic spirit—it is a natural human response being managed in obedience to God.

A spirit of anger in Scripture refers to a persistent, controlling, or destructive force that dominates a person’s behavior (Ephesians 4:26–27 warns against letting anger give the devil a foothold). If your anger arises but you remain calm, forgive, and do not allow it to control you, it is simply an emotion, not a spirit.
When faced with temptation, there are times to run and times to resist, and Scripture gives clear guidance.

You run from sin when it is dangerous, seductive, or beyond your natural ability to resist. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:18, “Flee fornication.” You remove yourself from the source of temptation—whether it’s a place, a person, or an opportunity—because staying there puts your soul at risk. Running is not cowardice; it is obedience and wisdom.

You resist when you are confronted with pressure or attack that you can face through God’s power. James 4:7 says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resisting means standing firm in faith, speaking Scripture, and relying on the Holy Spirit. This is active confrontation, not passive endurance.

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— Deuteronomy 31:6

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