SARAI.
Given the name which means both “Princess” & “Quarrelsome,” Abram’s wife had quite the roller coaster of a life.
We first meet her in Genesis 11 when she marries Abram. It isn’t much longer before he hears the call to go, and Sarai becomes a nomad. Along the way, she is given to a Pharoah because not only is she beautiful, her husband was too afraid to admit she was his wife, not his sister. In a miraculous show of might, God closes the wombs of all in the palace until the truth comes out. (Imagine if that which is most painful to you becomes blatantly obvious through that miracle – your inability to carry a child.)
Many years later, God has blessed Abram & given both he and Sarai new names, to represent their calling to parent the new nation God is shaping.
Yet in this newness, Sarah is still unable to conceive. She takes her eyes of His promise, gives her handmaiden to Abraham to be her surrogate, and her pain becomes even more heightened when Ismael is born, for the problem is now obviously her. (More about Hagar tomorrow.) Tensions become high, words and tempers flared, and the promise seemed even more unlikely than ever within Sarah.
And yet, God had not forgotten His Word.
Three visitors show up one day, and remind Abraham (with Sarah listening on) that the promise is still going to be fulfilled.
Sarah, now quite past the age of childbirth, laughed at the thought. Which the visitor immediately addresses, by reminding her that the Word is going to come to pass.
And it did.
Sarah ended up miraculously giving birth to Isaac. The dream she never thought possible came to pass. The barren woman carried a child in the womb she had believed would always remain empty.
Friend, Sarah’s story reassures me that God’s Word will come to pass. Even if it doesn’t on my time table. His Word is pregnant with promise, and I can trust that He has a good hope and a future for me, even when I can’t see it in the middle of my wandering or pain.
Not only did God give her a new name, He gave Sarai the deepest desire of her heart, and exchanged her grief for joy.
And what He had done for Sarai, Sarah? He can do for you and I as well.
#sharingHope #hopefortheharddays
KARLA LEES 