This month’s study is on Sarah. The wife of Abraham and the
mother of Isaac, she is seen as the matriarch of the Judeo-Christian tradition.
Her original name was Sarai and later changed to Sarah when God made his
covenant with Abraham. Both names mean essentially “princess” as evidence of
her importance. Her death, at the age of 127 years, is the only instance in
Scripture where the age of a woman is recorded (Genesis 23:1-2). What insights
can we learn from her characters? What lessons can we apply to our lives from
Sarah’s example? What does Sarah’s story
tell us about God’s promises?
Sarah was a very beautiful woman. So beautiful that she attracted
the attention of ancient rulers (Genesis 12:14 and Genesis 20:1-2). She was
strong willed and was a woman of action. Unfortunately, her strong will and
action led to jealousy and mistreatment of innocent people. She knew of God’s
promise to make them the parents of a nation and when a child hadn’t arrived
yet, she took matters in her own hands. She asked her husband, Abraham, to
sleep with her maidservant, Hagar, in order to have a child through her
(Genesis 16:1-4). According to my devotional study, Sarah is described as a
loyal wife who did right and did not give in to fear. But did she really? Did
she do what was right? She mistreated Hagar who was pregnant by Sarah’s own
plots (Genesis 16:6) and blamed Abraham for Hagar’s hatred of her (Genesis
16:5). She called for the banishment of Hagar and her son, Ishmael so he
couldn’t share in Isaac’s inheritance (Genesis 21:9-10). What about not giving
in to fear? The whole Hagar situation is evidence that her fear and lack of
faith in God’s promise that she took matters in her own hands.
The lessons we can apply from Sarah’s example is two points.
First, God responds to our faith despite our failures. Despite Sarah’s plan to
create the promise child ahead of God’s plan, she was still blessed with her son,
Isaac, at the age of 90. God can accomplish his purposes despite our frailties,
our little faith and our belief of self-reliance. He did the same for King
David numerous times. He did for Elijah was he struggled being God’s primary
prophet (1 Kings 17 & 18). He did for Peter even after his denial of Jesus
(Mark 14:66-72). Second, God isn’t bound by physical limitations, he can
stretch the limits and cause the unthinkable to happen. Our understanding of
the world, the universe and even God, is limited by what we see. First Corinthians
13:12 says “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror, then we shall see
face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.” We only see in part while God sees the entire picture. When we pray for
something. We see our desires to 1) have it now or 2) have it at all. God sees
the picture and knows 1) its too soon or 2) its not good at all. One day we
will have all the answers and see from God’s perspective.
The second point leads me to God’s promises. All God’s
promise come to pass with time. Sarah didn’t believe God would give her a child
in her old age. Impossible! she thinks. She laughs as if God made a joke
(Genesis 18:12). The promise was first made to Abraham in Genesis 17:15-21 when
he made the covenant with him. Later, in Genesis 18:10, God had given them a
timeline for this child to appear: one year. And within one year, Isaac was
born (Genesis 21:1-7). Today, fulfillment of God’s promises comes when we pray.
Sometimes we get an immediate answer whether it is yes or no. Sometimes we’ll
get “silence” usually a clue that God has answered “not yet.” The Bible is
filled with verses which states God’s promises to provide and deliver. One of
my favorites is Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be
dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold
you with my righteous right hand.” The best way to bring peace to a troubled
heart is to focus on God’s promises and trust him to do as he promises.
In conclusion, there’s nothing harder than to wait. Waiting
is the hardest part whether is waiting for someone good, someone bad or
something unknown. Waiting can be agony. Sarah knew the difficulty in waiting. Sarah
tried to “help” along God’s promises and tried to deal with her problems
without God. And when that didn’t work, she tried to cover up her faults by
blaming others. She allowed her desire for a child and fulfill God’s promise to
get ahead of her faith and even God himself. From Sarah’s story, we learn that
it is best to wait on God’s timing rather than take matters in our own hands.
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