Don't Be Like Sarah
Finding patience for the waiting
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“Don’t be like Sarah, Amy”.
I know it sounds crazy to say I hear God sometimes, but I legit do. Sometimes I’ll be journaling away and then suddenly… a thought out of no where. Maybe it’s me. Usually it’s pretty helpful and very much out of nowhere. Either way, it’s a pretty amazing experience.
Here’s the thing… over the last few years, there have been some things I’ve been praying for that are pretty big, and… unfortunately… pretty necessary in my life. Some of these things are major roadblocks on the road I feel I am supposed to be walking. Others of them are about relationships around me that I know are crucial to my life. All of these things are important and mean a lot to me. A whole lot.
I do know that God has got this and that He will work things out. I feel like I’m getting there with my faith…sometimes. And then other times I feel exhausted by all the waiting and wish I could just walk over and flip a switch and make things happen.
Have you ever felt this way?
The truth is, it would be really easy for me to dive in and try to do it myself. Like really easy. Often I will create a solution in my head and know exactly how it should be solved. I usually can get a good path in my head on the next steps and I convince myself that it would be so easy to take over the reigns…but I’ve learned the hard way - that sure does mess things up.
Take Sarah {Sarai in this version of the text} for example…
“Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not been able to bear children for him. But she had an Egyptian servant named Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.” And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal.” Genesis 16:1-2
She had been promised a child by The Lord, and she didn’t believe it. At the time of this promise, Sarah and Abraham were already very old. Abraham was 75. We don’t know how old Sarah was, but surely not far behind. But yet they were promised a child. The Bible Says Abraham believed and Sarah laughed. Maybe Sarah did believe for a little bit, but after about ten years, she had had enough of the waiting. As the verse above states, she took matters into her own hands… and gave her servant over to Abraham so he can have an heir, and that’s how we get Ishmael.
BOY DO I RELATE! Do you?
Have you ever felt like Sarah? Tired of waiting? I have. A lot. It’s hard to let go and let God. It just is. And I sure do feel Sarah’s pain. Ten years is a long time… in fact, the Bible tells us that Abraham was 100 when Isaac was born; that means that Sarah had to wait 25 years to see her promise.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS.
Here’s the thing guys, God will do what He said He will do. He just will. You know and I know it. From my experience with this, I don’t believe that’s where we struggle. I think we trust that God does what He says. Where we stumble is in our patience and our faith. It takes patience to see God’s promise and faith to believe that God even promised you something in the first place.
I feel like God has promised me some things. Maybe someday I will tell you about them… maybe when they come pass. Maybe, at that point, I can be one of the witnesses spoken about in Hebrews, but until then, I’m right here with you…waiting. And waiting as patiently as I know how to, which isn’t really exceptional. Like I really, really struggle with patience.
This walk with God is a marathon, not a sprint.
And I’m not a marathoner. I’m a sprinter. Always have been. So now, God is choosing to allow me to feel the pain of the marathon…because here’s the thing: I have been Sarah. I have taken things into my own hands and decided to run with it, and what a mess I made! If we had time, I’d go through each mess I allowed to ruin things while I was waiting. Ishmael was a mess you guys. He caused problems for everyone for generations. But yet…even God blessed Ishmael. God is so patient and kind with us that he will allow our mess to exist and he will continue to fulfill his promise. How do we know this? Because…Isaac. Fifteen years after Ismael, Isaac, the promise, finally arrived.
He is a faithful, faithful God.
Listen, you can go ahead and be a Sarah, but don’t forget what a mess she made just by trying to do things herself. Remind yourself, anytime you feel like taking things into your own hands, “Don’t be a Sarah”. And then sit. And wait. And pray. And breathe. And trust that God is still fighting for you. Because He is.