By Faith Sarah…
Devotional Reading: It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. Hebrews 11:11 NLT
God promised both Sarah and Abraham a son. God did this the same time he changed Sarah’s name.
Not only was Sarah 90, but she’d been barren her entire life. She’d never conceived or given birth to a child. Her physical capacity to do so was absent, and time was no longer on her side. So this promise from God simply didn’t fit the facts of her life. It wasn’t practical.
It’s possible that Sarah’s story resembles your own but in a different way. You could be barren in other forms. Your capacity to experience what God has for you just doesn’t seem to be there. You’re not producing what you thought you would be at this stage in your life. You’re not delivering on the destiny you believed to be yours. You’ve heard Jesus’ promise in John 10:10, when He declared, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” But you don’t see the results of that promise in your everyday life.
If that describes your current state of mind, know that Sarah was right where you are. Five times God had told her she was going to have a son, but time tick-tocked. If we were to look closely, we’d see that many of our lives look like this—like our ability to be what God wants us to be, to do what God wants us to do, and to achieve what God wants us to achieve no longer exists.
Whatever the case, if you feel like too much time has passed to get to experience the fulfillment of Christ’s promise of an abundant and fulfilling life, I encourage you to never let the facts get in the way of your faith. Don’t deny the facts—facts are facts—but just know that faith is never limited to facts alone. Facts always involve what you see. Faith involves what you don’t see.
Prayer and Confession
Father, help me to trust in you absolutely and believe so strongly that when you promise you will definitely fulfill. Amen
Further Reading: Genesis 17:15-16
