Raising Youngins

I love studying moms of the Bible. I’ve always wanted to see how the Bible would speak to me through each mom. The first mom of the Bible I’ve studied is Sarah and I want to share some learnings with you…

Here’s a snapshot of Sarah’s story (Gen 11-23):

Sarah started with an attitude of doubt and unbelief and transformed to having great faith. She’s worthy of mention in Hebrews along with the other heroes of the faith. She was renamed by God when God made a covenant with her and Abraham. She desperately wanted to be a mom, she told her servant, Hagar, to marry and sleep with her husband. But when Hagar did have a child it worsened the situation for Sarah, and Abraham. Sarah and Abraham were of old age when they finally conceived their first child. A promise that stretched their faith. A&S were visited by 3 angels who repeated promised that Sarah would have a son, Isaac!

Sarah makes me reflect on my own life and when I have doubted God’s promises in my own life. Have I tried to take things in my own hands and not trust Him with His plan for my life? Yes. Definitely yes.

Sarah was beautiful. She was taken twice when traveling with A because of her beauty. God protected her from intimate relationships with a king and a pharaoh. One characteristic that I learned while reading through Sarah’s story is how faithful she was to Abraham. You do not hear her complain about the many times they moved around. She LOVED Abraham. However Sarah’s own desperation to have a baby influenced her to tell another woman to marry/sleep with her husband AND tell her husband to marry/sleep with another woman. Wow, I can’t imagine.l]

I love that all Abraham and Sarah’s promises were given to them together (Gen 2:24, Eph 5:31). A&S waited 15 years after Gold told them to look into the sky and see that their descendants would one day be more than al the stars. Then they waited 10 more years before the promise of Isaac was fulfilled. God’s promises don’t rely on the level of my faith. Sarah, even in her doubt, impatiently implied that God was not keeping his promises. All the waiting… Sarah doubted God’s fruition, then came joy with Isaac.

Everyone reads the “Sarah laughed” line in the Bible and may not know what to think of it, but I read some commentary specifically about this verse that was pretty interesting. A told S to make some food when they had visitors in which Sarah did. But then when dinner was ready and A and the guests were eating, the guests asked A where S was and he said “in the tent.” Being in the tent means that she was unclean. The commentator believes that Sarah laughed because she physically felt herself starting her period again. Remember when she said she’s too old for a child (Hello God, I’m not ovulating in old age). Well, God restarted her productive system in order for her to ovulate and menstruate to have a child. God’s timing was excellent. The Lord was gracious to Sarah and did what He had promised. Peter later wrote that her descendants do what is right without fear (1 Peter 3:6-16).

Here are some lessons, I’ve grabbed from Sarah’s story (some shared resources below):

1. We can believe God when he speaks.
   1. We limit Him to our own understanding rather offer our desires and surrendering our understanding. Matt 13:58
   1. We believe that the rational over real and allow what is naturally possible to limit the promises of God.
2. Unity in marriage is important and attainable.
   1. S trusted A’s decisions
3. 1. S had to trust A’s intentions with God
   1. Preserving marital unity of God protected S.
4. Our decisions have consequences.
   1. When we mess up, God doesn’t hold it against us.
5. God wants our sinfulness.
   1. Gen 21:20, God ended up using Sarah’s sin for his glory.
6. We are foreigners in this world.
   1. Endure hardships and suffering because Heaven is our forever home.

God, thank you capturing Sarah’s story so that we can learn from her. Her doubt, need for control, and yearning for a child is relatable to so many women. She, like me, wanted to make things into her own hands. She, like me, is impatient, untrusting, and sometimes mean to others when the situation didn’t go her way.

Please help be like Sarah in how I honor my husband – trusting him and praying for his journey with you. Please help me be like Sarah in seeing the joy in the Lord’s blessings. God, you are generous, you are gracious, you are so good to us. Please give me the understanding and patience (because it’s in YOUR timing) that YOU can do more than I could ever imagine. Amen.

Here’s your next step to honor Sarah’s legacy: are you facing something difficult right now? Difficult child, marriage tension, work-related problem, anything. Big or small, bring it to God. He wants to hear your heart and your worries. Write God a prayer about your current challenge. After that, write yourself a prayer from God about your problem. Don’t just do this in your head. Write it down. Keep it. See what God will do.

Here are some additional resources about Sarah:

https://clothedwithdignityco.com/life-lessons-from-sarah/

https://www.ladiesdrawingnigh.org/lessons-from-sarah-in-the-bible/