As it was hard for Sarai to believe God’s promise that she would have a child, it can be hard for us to have faith when things don’t happen the way we desire.
Excerpt from Beautiful Hearted Women of the Bible by Linsey Driskill
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
Sarai was married to a man named Abram. They lived in a place called Haran. When Abram was seventy-five years old, God told him and Sarai to leave their home and move to a new place.
God didn’t tell them where they were going, but He promised to show them the way. When God said it was time to move, Abram and Sarai trusted God and did just what He said. Sarai showed loyalty to her husband, Abram, by staying by his side throughout the long journey to the new land. If you could move anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?
Sarai and Abram were old—old enough to be grandparents. But they had no children.
Quite some time after they moved from their homeland, God appeared to Abram. God promised that Abram and Sarai would have a son even though they were too old to have children.
The Lord took Abram outside and said, “Look at the sky and count the stars.” He then told Abram that he and Sarai would have as many descendants as stars in the sky. Descendants are the children, grandchildren, and so on, who would come after them. So how many descendants did God promise them? As many as the stars in the sky—that’s a whole lot!
If you look at the sky on a dark night, you’ll see many, many stars. But the Bible tells us that God knows every star in the sky, decides how many there will be, and even has a name for each star! (Psalm 147:4). What does that tell you about God? If you could name a star, what would you name it?
Every night, the stars in the sky were a reminder to Sarai and Abram of God’s promise to them and His faithfulness. The stars were also a reminder for Abram and Sarai to remain loyal to the Lord and to each other as they remembered the promises to come.
However, God’s promise didn’t happen right away. Sarai and Abram waited, but there was still no baby. Sarai became jealous of a woman named Hagar who could have children. Imagine all your friends getting what they want, except you—well, that’s what happened to Sarai. Sarai was so jealous that she mistreated Hagar. If you hurt someone’s feelings or mistreat someone, how can you try to work it out?
Despite Sarai’s imperfections, the Lord was with her and showed her grace. The Lord is also with you when you do well and when you make mistakes. Do you think God forgot His promise to give Abram and Sarai a child just because Sarai made wrong choices? No! God always keeps His promises.
Just as it was probably difficult for Sarai to believe in God’s promise that she would have a child, it can also be hard for us to have faith when things don’t happen right away. Sarai was learning to trust God more and more. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to trust in the Lord with all our hearts, even when we don’t understand everything. We’ll find out more about Sarai and Abram in the next devotion. Can you guess what happened?
1. How did Sarai show loyalty to Abram and to God?
2. What are some ways you can be loyal to your friends and family?
3. What is beautiful about Sarai’s heart?
Lord, help us to be loyal as Sarai was, and help us trust You when we don’t understand everything. In Jesus’ name, amen.
A trust fall shows the importance of trust. Stand behind your daughter and extend your arms toward her. Call out, “Trust me!” and encourage your daughter to fall backward into your arms.
Make sure to catch her! Discuss how people will trust us when we are dependable and loyal.
Create an edible model of the land Abram and Sarai traveled. Look up the Bible story in Genesis 12 and consult a map in the back of your Bible or online. Together with your daughter, brainstorm food items to represent water, land forms, and trees. For example, for water you could use blue licorice. Other ideas might include graham crackers for the land with squirts of chocolate syrup for mud, green sprinkles for grass, cupcakes with green icing for hills, and green lollipops for trees (you can use marshmallows to help them stand up). Let your imaginations come alive. Then enjoy eating your delicious creation!
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Read an interview with the author, Linsey Driskill
Linsey Driskill is and educator and the mother of triplets. She has taught in in Guatemala and inner-city Atlanta school, and directed Villages of Hope, a non-profit organization that supports former foster children and homeless youth in transitional independent living.
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