Sarah had many challanges

 Monday, August 16, 2010
Sarah: Mom of Promise



“By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11



Of the moms we will meet, Sarah has one of the longest roads to travel before actually becoming a mom. She battled discouragement in many areas of her life, but she was victorious because she, “judged Him faithful who had promised.”



Sarah was first named Sarai which means “to contend.” Her husband Abram was called of God to father a great nation. Sarai was also part of this plan. God told Abram, “I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; you shall be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2).



Because God promised Abram he would father a great nation, Sarai knew she would bear children. But years and years went by without an heir. Abram asked God if one born in his household would become his heir and not one actually born to him (Gen. 15:2). But God again said Abram would personally father a child and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them… So shall your descendents be.”



Because Sarai was still barren, she thought of a plan. If her handmaiden, Hagar, had a baby by Abram, the baby would also be Sarai’s. According to pastor and author John MacArthur, “Sarah apparently reasoned that since she owned Hagar, if Abraham fathered a child by Hagar, it would in effect be Sarah’s child.” But God designed marriage to be between one man and one woman. So this polygamy was sinful and would not have the outcome Sarai wanted. In fact, after Hagar conceived Ishmael, Sarai began to hate her.



Hagar was told by God that Ishmael would become a great nation, but not the nation promised to Abram. God promised Abram again that he would have a child, through Sarai. He changed their names to Abraham and Sarah. When God told Abraham he would bear a son this time next year, he laughed (Genesis 17:17). And later when Sarah heard she would bear a son in her old age, she laughed (18:12). Though this plan sounded impossible, God made it a reality. John MacArthur writes, “When His time came for the promise to be fulfilled, no one would be able to deny that this was indeed God’s doing. His plan all along was for Sarah to have her first child in her old age, after every prospect of a natural fulfillment of the prophecy was exhausted and after every earthly reason for hope was completely dead.”



Isaac, which means “he laughs,” was born to Sarah when Abraham was 100 years old. Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me” (Gen. 21:6). Elizabeth George writes, “This definitely was an occasion for joy. Isaac was Sarah’s reward. He was the child of her own body, the child of her old age, the child of God’s promise, the fruit of tested faith, the gift of God’s grace, and the heaven-appointed heir.”



When Sarah was 127, she died. Abraham and Isaac mourned her death. Her life was marked by highs and lows. But she remained faithful. She is remembered not for her mistakes, but for her victories. As Eugenia Price writes, “We think rightly of Abraham as the first man of great faith, of Sarah, as the first woman of great faith. They were.” Hebrews 11:11 says of Sarah, “By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” We also know God is faithful to His promises to us. Remember the following promises as you go throughout your day:





•Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

•Psalm 55:22 “Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.”

•Isaiah 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

•1Peter 5:7, “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”

1 Peter 3:6 tells us we can be Sarah’s daughters if we do what is right without being afraid. What does it mean to be a daughter of Sarah? What qualities do we want to emulate from he