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 NKJV
What could be more hopeless than a barren woman at the age of 90? God promised Abraham and Sarah a son. He promised to give them descendants as numerous as the stars. This seemed physically impossible since Sarah was past the age of child bearing. Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety. They trusted in God’s faithfulness. Yes, their faith may have waivered a little when they took matters into their own hands with Hagar. Yet they both appear among the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11.
Paul thought their faith was so strong that he wrote about their hope when they had no earthly reason to hope:
who contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations (Rom. 4:18)
Abraham and Sarah had hope and they believed the unbelievable because they trusted God.
We can learn several things from Abraham and Sarah. We need to be patient and not take things into our own hands, but rather, wait on the Lord. Many times, we grow weary in waiting just like Abraham and Sarah. We think it is up to us to act since God has not moved yet.
The most important thing we can take away from their story is to have a faith that hopes in God when things seem hopeless. We need a faith that believes the promises God has given us. He has promised to supply all our needs (Phil. 4:19), give us a peace to guard our hearts and minds (Phil. 4:7), and He has promised to strengthen us (Phil. 4:13).
Friend, we have the greatest hope that has ever existed, Jesus Christ. We do not place our hope in this world, our government, or even in ourselves. Our hope is in God who brings life to the barren and salvation to the soul.
Heavenly Father, help us when our faith waivers. When we are in the midst of hopeless situations, help us remember that we must trust in You and Your promises because You are faithful. Amen.
DIG DEEPER
Read Gen. 15:1-7.
HIKING THE TRAIL
What is the seemingly hopeless thing that you need to trust God for today? Trust God with this matter and commit it to prayer.
Copyright 2015 Carolyn Dale Newell.
Originally posted on September 10, 2020 @ 2:27 pm