And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Do you ever feel like a part of you is dead or dying? Maybe it is damaged, seemingly worthless, or no longer very useful? I have felt like this. But here is the secret of Abraham and Sarah: God delights in giving new life to dead things, broken people, and seemingly worthless skills or abilities! They were both old and Sarah’s womb was broken or barren. But God gave new life to both their bodies. When he gives new life, his glory then shines as a brighter beacon!
I love this story in the Bible for a few reasons. First, many women (and their husbands) struggle with getting pregnant, having miscarriages, etc., and God shows here that he cares. He cares about the heartache, he cares about the pain, and he even cares when we have momentary lapses of belief. A deeper look into this story is found in Genesis 16 and 17. Abraham first was shocked and without belief in Genesis 16, falling on the ground. Sarah, in Genesis 17, also laughed off the news from God’s representatives (likely angels) about her having a baby. But God saw past these momentary lapses of faith and declared them both faithful, because of their repentance and the recovery of their faith.
Second, many times we seem to wait patiently for God to act, but it takes longer than we had expected. God is sovereign, and when he does act there is typically a lot behind the scenes that we do not see. His plans and actions are for bigger purposes and are better than ours.
Third, we get confused and see God as operating under our human constraints sometimes. But his power and ability is far greater and stronger than ours. We just have to trust him in the waiting.
Fourth, true faithfulness is not perfection or the lack of failures. Instead, it is a dogged determination to stick it out with God and his plans, and to trust him in spite of the world around us falling apart. I try to remember that, in a sinful world, part of the consequence of sin is brokenness. So I should expect more things to fall apart, and people to act selfishly more often, rather than the other way around. It is not looking at life from a jaded perspective, but rather being optimistic and also seeing things for what they are. Our primary job is to rescue people from a broken world into salvation and God’s family and to disciple them. Living in this world to gain wealth, power, and influence are subservient goals to our calling in Christ Jesus.
Lord, thank you for this encouraging passage. Sarah, though imperfect, trusted you and was faithful. And you honored her for it. Help me to be faithful in similar fashion and seek your glory most of all!
