On the morning of my youngest child’s eighteenth birthday, nostalgia and hope fight for priority. Nostalgia looks at the regrets and joyful memories of the past; hope sees how God will work it all together to shape this young woman’s own journey of faith. No mother can automatically pass on her faith. She can only exemplify and hope the next generation takes up the mantle. Much of my own faith has faltered many times in plain sight of my children, and yet, God has always been faithful to take my hand to help me begin again. Thus, it is not my faith that I pass on, but the faithfulness of God that I emphasize to those who come behind me. Such is the case of the oldest “empty nester” in the Bible, Sara. Though I don’t think Isaac ever officially left her nest, go with me here. Ha!
Sara is one of two women specifically named in the “Hall of Faith” of Hebrews 11. Rahab, we have already visited in this series. Hebrews 11:11 says of Sara: Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
She had been waiting into her ninetieth year for the son God promised decades before. However, in Genesis 16, the Bible records Sara’s lack of faith in God’s promise. She tried to help God fulfill His promise of a son by giving Abraham her servant as a second wife. It all went horribly wrong, as it usually does when we try to “help” God get things done a little faster. The beauty of Genesis 16 is not the faith of any of the participants. In fact, every one of the cast of characters made sinful choices. Sara pressured Abraham to take another wife. Abraham went along with this misguided plan and then later removed himself from the process of finding a solution by just letting Sara throw Hagar out. Hagar, after finding out she was expecting Abraham’s child, disrespected Sara and found the God of Abraham in the wilderness, where she named Him, “El-Roi, the God who sees.” God sent Hagar back to submit herself to Sara. Ishmael grew up to become a mighty nation, and Abraham and Sara did have the son God promised when Isaac was born fourteen years later.
Why, after such a disappointing choice, did Sara’s name end up in the “Hall of Faith?” It was not because her faith was perfect. It is because she judged God faithful who had promised. When it came time to conceive, she did not allow unbelief to crowd out truth. She trusted that God could do an impossible feat, though everything screamed it was impossible. Her moment of faith must have come after she laughed when the messengers came to tell Abraham it was time.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also? And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old? Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son. Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. Genesis 18:9-15.
When God’s voice speaks so clearly and so personally, it is unforgettable. “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” probably went through Sara’s mind every time her faith faltered from that time forward. God’s Word became the bastion of truth that could not crumble under life circumstances. So it is for the daughters of faith today, and for the daughter I am preparing to take on the storms ahead. It is not her own strength, her own wisdom, or her own faith that will carry her through. She must “judge Him faithful who promised” just like those who have gone before her. When she falters, she can get up again. The God who made her, saved her, and called her His daughter will not let her go. In that promise, she can rest. So can every daughter of faith. I pray that this is an encouragement and a help to someone today. Be blessed, friends!
His Song in the Night 