Sarah’s Faith

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Sarah is a great woman of the Bible who you could say is the quintessential mother.  Everything the Holy Spirit records about Sarah’s life is in relationship to her son. Sarah’s motherhood is very instructive not only in failure but also in success. Here are a few things Sarah’s motherhood teaches me.

Her unfulfilled desire (Genesis 11:30)

• You’re introduced to Sarai in Genesis 11 by being told she is not a mother. Not only is it said once, but twice.  Sarai was barren; she had no child.
  • She had no emotional satisfaction because she could not be fruitful.
  • The barren womb is unsatisfied.
• Some failures are inabilities. This is Sarah’s problem. Her body was unable to bear children. It wasn’t her decision, but she blamed herself.

Guilt can lead to desperate decisions (Genesis 16:1-2,15)

• Abraham and Sarai have come back from Egypt with more than what they went in with.
  • Sarai has an Egyptian handmaid now.
  • They may even have some Egyptian culture that rubbed off on them.
  • Sarai suggests to Abram that Hagar be the surrogate mother for their heir.
• Sarah went to work trying to figure out how to make a promise of God work.
• Carnality is not a shortcut to God’s blessings. This type of decision is the opposite of faith.
• But it is the way religion works. There is guilt and then there is some godless way of dealing with the guilt.

Laughter of unbelief (Genesis 18:9-15)

• Sarah’s thought that God could not bring forth a miraculous birth was unreasonable being that God was the Creator of the human body.
• Is anything too hard for the Lord?
• Laughter when the Lord calls her out in Genesis 18 then her perspective changes. Nay, but thou didst laugh. The Lord revealing He knows everything about her.

Lord’s favor (Genesis 21:1-3)

• Sarah has a son. She is fulfilled.
• Lord’s favor puts to rest Sarah’s desire, but raises a whole new set of problems in the family (Genesis 12:9-11).

Decision of faith (Hebrews 11:1)

• A faith that the LORD will produce life out of death just as the LORD said.
  • Sarah was beyond child bearing age. That part of her life was past and over.
    • Believed God for a supernatural birth in spite of her lifeless womb.
    • Sarah could not produce what God wanted to produce in her.
    • That power is with God and given to them that believe, like Sarah.
  • Sarah’s faith is what received the promise of God.
  • John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
• Sarah’s faith justified her
  • Sarah’s faith allowed the LORD to fulfill His promise through her, not in spite of her. Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
  • Sarah’s faith allowed God to work. Sara herself received strength… Believing God yielded fruitfulness she once thought impossible (Hebrews 11:11-12)
  • Life that she could not produce in herself was produced. She became a vessel for the work of the LORD Jesus Christ. Without me, ye can do nothing is what Jesus said.
  • John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
  • John 3:3-6

Invitation to trust Jesus Christ

• The LORD requires you to have faith like Sarah.
• You are a sinner. You will pay for your sins in a colossal brushfire that is God’s judgment. What you need is life from the LORD Jesus Christ. You need justification from your sin.
• It is faith that allows a person to carry the promise of God in the form of Jesus Christ like Sarah was able to carry the promise of God because she trusted the word of God.