Rachel Whisman

Sarah was given a promise. 

She was left waiting and probably thinking, “…Maybe it will happen this year?” 

Silence responded with “no.”

She was called to endure when nothing was changing before her eyes.  

Her true character was being revealed and refined. 

Years passed by… 

Finally, Sarah saw and she planned. She used what was in front of her to try and construct a reality that wasn’t present before her (Genesis 16:2). She had been told by God that she was going to have a baby. She was ready to cash the check, but God kept saying, “Not yet.” How frustrating that must have been. She must’ve thought, “Am I only hoping in vain?” Yet, she wavered. She placed her faith in herself and submitted to her plan, causing a ripple effect of consequences. 

Her mistakes are penned in the Bible, and I am thankful for Sarah. I am thankful that the Lord shows us how we are prone to act and how He deals with his daughters when they sin. I say all of this because I see myself in Sarah a lot. Like her, I see and I try to plan. I try to organize the situations around me to make sense in light of my desires, hopes, and wishes. Just like Sarah, she forced her way, and so do I. Though she sinned, the very things that got her into trouble are what the Lord chose to redeem: her faith and submission. 

In the New Testament we see this as Sarah is heralded as an example for us to look to as she submitted to her husband, which is a beautiful reflection of her submission to God (1 Peter 3:5). You can’t have a submissive spirit to your husband if you don’t have that heart posture first to God. We see this as well in Hebrews 11:11, “as she considered Him faithful who had promised.” Her faith, by God’s strength, is what persevered her through her mistake. 

In the end, her way wasn’t the final say. True for you as well. Your way isn’t the final say. The sins you’ve committed are not the end, but what God uses to display His power of redemption. God carried out His purpose through Sarah, and He will do the same thing through you.