LEARNING DAILY

 

Hebrews 11:11, It was by faith that Sarah together with Abraham was able to have a child, even though they were too old and Sarah was barren.  Abraham (Sarah) believed that God would keep His promise.  And so a whole nation came from one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children – a nation with so many people that, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them.  (NLT)

 

Before I go forward, it is important to note that other translations say that Sarah trusted God to keep his promise instead of Abraham.

 

It was not good for a woman to be barren in Old Testament times; it was considered worse than death.  She laughed at God’s promise to give her a child.  To make matters worse, she lied about laughing.  You find this account in Genesis 18:10-15.  Before this she tried to solve her problem of being barren by giving her maidservant, Hagar, to Abraham as a wife in order to conceive and fulfill this promise.  Genesis 16.  But here she is in the Hall of Fame of Faith! She believed that God was faithful to do what He had said.  Just because she did not understand how, she remained faithful in her trust in God.  At age 90, she gave birth to a son – Isaac. 

 

Sarah laughed within herself about the possibility that she could conceive at her age.  Physically it was impossible since she was passed child-bearing age.  But something changed for her and she had to simply trust that God would do what He said.  What else but faith could have helped her change her mind and conceive?  We need to include the faith of Abraham in this as well.

 

Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.”  Faith comes from hearing (or reading) God’s Word.   In Genesis 17:17, Abraham fell on his face and laughed when God spoke to him about Sarah having a child.  When Sarah laughed, God asked them, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”  They both needed to be reminded that God was all-powerful; at God’s reminder their faith became stronger than their unbelief.

 

Sarah’s faith was not always that strong.  Can any of us put ourselves in that same position.  We know that God can do all things.  But that knowledge often translates to others and not for ourselves.  It is so important that we are in God’s Word daily.  Again, I urge you not to be reading to check off a box on a to do list.  Read and study to know who God is.  I believe that is His desire for each of us because that is when our faith becomes stronger than our unbelief.  That is when we can pray in Jesus’ name because we pray like Him and allow our faith to believe beyond the natural realm of things, beyond our senses and comprehension.  It is believing God will do what He has said and rewards those who diligently seek Him!  That is the faith that I want to live by.  I am going to seek God and believe Him for each day because He has today and tomorrow in His hands.  There is no other place I would rather be!