February 12, 2023

Walking in Faith Series - Sarah - The Mother of Many Nations

Listen to the Full Audio Version Here

Hebrews 11 describes a hall of fame for people throughout the Bible that had extraordinary faith in God.

This is the 5th devotional of a series I've entitled "Walking in Faith" that will take a deep dive look into each of the people who earned a place in the hall of fame described in Hebrews 11. We'll look at the lives of each of these people, what earned them a spot in the Hebrews 11 hall of fame, and what that means for us thousands of years later. (Listen to Last Week's Devotional Here) - Walking in Faith Series - Abraham - The Father of Many Nations – SimplyHealthyHome (shopsimplyhealthyhome.com)

This week's account is about a woman named Sarah whose faith led her to become a mother at the age of 90 years old and introduce a long line of generations that would usher in the birth of Jesus Christ.

Who Was Sarah?

Sarah was the wife of Abraham and mother of the Jewish lineage that would usher in the birth of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Below are a few additional quick facts about Sarah -

Sarah was born with the name Sarai, but later renamed Sarah by God. (Genesis 17:15)
Sarah was very beautiful. (Genesis 12:11)
Sarah was very wealthy. (Genesis 13:1-2)
Sarah had a sense of humor. (Genesis 21:6)
Sarah gave birth to her first child at the age of 90 years old. (Genesis 17:17)
Sarah was an exemplary wife. She followed Abraham and supported him throughout his journey. We see that Sarah was loved and mourned by Abraham at the time of her death. (Genesis 23)

What Earned Sarah a Spot in the Hebrews 11 Hall of Fame?

Below is the description of Sarah's faith found in Hebrews 11 -

“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. Therefore, from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude – innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.” Hebrews 11:11-12 (NKJV)

Sarah had faith that God would fulfill His promise to her, and that she would have a son even in her old age.

What Does This Mean for Us?

Below are a few key takeaways from the story of Sarah's faith that I believe also apply to us -

1. God's blessings don't always appear when we want them to.

Sarah and Abraham longed for a child. But even though God knew their desires, he waited until the timing was right to grant them a son.

Even when all hope seems lost, God is still capable of creating miracles.

2. God blesses us despite our shortcomings.

Even though Sarah had faith that God would fulfill His promise, she became impatient and gave her maidservant over to Abraham so that they could have a child through her. Because of Sarah's impatience, a struggle was born through the line of Ishmael (her maidservant's son) that would last for thousands of years between the Arabs and Israelites. - See article for full story Ishmael and Isaac (therefinersfire.org)

But even though Sarah sinned and became impatient, God still granted her a son, and fulfilled His promise to make her the mother of many nations.

3. We should be mindful that people struggle even when appearances might indicate otherwise.

Sarah was beautiful and wealthy. She had what most would consider a pretty well-off life. But despite these blessings, we see that she struggled with infertility.

We don't always see the full picture. Even people who might seem happy and blessed can be struggling, and we should seek to always be mindful of this and be kind.