adapted from the study She, delighting in the examples of the women of the Bible, volume 4/pp63-64
Today’s Scripture Reading: Genesis 17, Genesis 18:11-12, and Jeremiah 32:17
Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by the great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:”
This is our third day’s journey with Sarah, or Sarai, as she has been known until now, when God gives her a new identity. It wasn’t a drastic change, simply one letter, but when God changed someone’s name, there was always a reason. According to gotquestions.org, “it was usually to establish a new identity. In this case, Sarai, meaning ‘my princess‘, became ‘Sarah’, meaning ‘mother of nations‘ (Genesis 17:15).”
It has been said before, but the ‘elephant’ (as they say) is still in the room: Whether she is called Sarai or Sarah she is still not pregnant and there is literally no human hope or physical possibilities of her being able to conceive. So, why would God grace her with this new identity? “Mother of nations? Seriously? She wasn’t even the mother of one. She had been barren for decades and well beyond childbearing age. This was more than Sarah’s opinion it was physical reality for we read in Genesis 18:11-12 that Abraham and Sarah were both very old by this time, and Sarah was long past the age of having children. 12 So she laughed silently to herself and said, “How could a worn-out woman like me enjoy such pleasure, especially when my master—my husband—is also so old?” It would take a miracle for Sarah to give Abraham a son now ~ and that’s exactly what happened. As just “one year later, God’s supernatural restoration of Sarah’s womb and Abraham’s vitality resulted in the promised son, Isaac. Abraham and Sarah’s moment of too much inward focus and not enough focus on God’s ability to do the impossible was a brief interlude to an otherwise trusting and believing relationship, as the author of Hebrews attests.1“
By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
(Hebrews 11:11–12)
Sarah is an example that nothing is too hard for the Lord our God.
Friends, let’s remember ~ if God can provide the impossible for Sarah, He is also able to so for us💜
Reflection and Application
How have you doubted God before? Is there something you are doubting Him about now?
The More We Know
What’s in a Name?
God changed Abram’s name, meaning “high father,” to “Abraham,” meaning “father of a multitude” (Genesis 17:5). At the same time, God changed Abraham’s wife’s name from “Sarai,” meaning “my princess,” to “Sarah,” meaning “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:15). This name change took place when God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. God also reaffirmed His promise to give Abraham a son, specifically through Sarah, and told him to name his son Isaac, meaning “laughter.” Abraham had another son, Ishmael, through Sarah’s handmaiden, Hagar. But God’s promise to bless the nations through Abraham was to be fulfilled through Isaac’s line, from whom Jesus descended (Matthew 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38). Isaac was the father of Jacob, who became “Israel.” His twelve sons formed the twelve tribes of Israel—the Jews. The physical descendants of Abraham and Sarah formed many nations. In a spiritual sense, their descendants are even more numerous. Galatians 3:29 says that all who belong to Jesus Christ—Jew, Gentile, male, or female—are “Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Me From the Inside Out 