Sarah, Noblewoman

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised (Hebrews 11:11). 

Sarah was a remarkable woman.  She left her home and moved to a strange land with her husband Abraham.  There was a severe famine in the land so they had to go to Egypt.  The Bible describes Sarah as being very beautiful which posed a problem for Abraham when they were in Egypt.  So, he said to Sarah, “Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance.  Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live.  Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you.” 

Why did Sarah go along with this plan?  Perhaps it was because she believe what her husband told her about the Egyptians.  She did it to spare his life.  She did it so that it may be well with him.  In other words, he put her in a spot.  If she didn’t lie and say that she was his sister, he would die.  He was basically saying that his life was in her hands.  Sarah agreed to lie about her relationship with Abraham.  It is true that when the Egyptians saw how beautiful she was, they commended her to Pharaoh and she was taken to his house.  Pharaoh treated Abraham well because of Sarah.  He managed to get sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels.  How must Sarah have felt?  She watched her husband fare well at her expense.  Still, she said nothing.  She remained faithful and loyal to him.

Thankfully, God intervened.  He plagued Pharaoh and his household until Pharaoh summoned Abraham and berated him for his deception.  “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?  Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way.” Abraham and Sarah left with everything he had given them.  They settled in Canaan.  If God had not intervened, Pharaoh would have taken Sarah as his wife.  What would have happened then?  Would Sarah continued with the charade?  Or would she have told the truth believing that it could cost Abraham his life?  How many of us would have gone that far to save our husbands?  Perhaps deep down, Sarah had faith that God would come through for her before things went too far.

Sarah was barren.  What a sad state to be in especially when she longed desparately for a child.  Abraham had told her that God was going to bless him with a son so Sarah decided that she would get a surrogate mother.  She convinced her Egyptian slave Hagar to be Abraham’s wife and to bear him a child which she, Sarah would raise.  The plan didn’t go as well as expected.  When she became pregnant Hagar lost respect for Sarah who treated her so harshly that Hagar ran away.    God convinced Hagar to return to her mistress which she did. 

God promised Abraham that Sarah would have a son.  Abraham laughed at the idea because both he and Sarah were well advanced in years.  Sarah was ninety.  But God insisted that she would conceive and true to His promise, she did.  And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.  For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.  Abraham named him Isaac which means “he laughs”.  I believe it alludes to the fact that when God told Abraham that Sarah was going to have child, Abraham fell on his face and laughed(Genesis 17:17).  And Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and all who hear will laugh with me.”  She also said, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? For I have borne him a son in his old age” (Genesis 21:1, 2, 6).

Sarah’s name was changed from Sarai (Princess) to Sarah (noblewoman).  She became the mother of nations.  God said, “I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her” (Genesis 17:16).

Sarah was noble.  She was self-sacrificing.  She sacrificed herself for her husband.  She put his wellbeing before her own.  She longed to give him a child and she finally did–at a time when she least expected it.  She not only became the mother of Isaac,  but the mother of nations.  Sarah was living proof that nothing is impossible with the Lord.  He blessed her with Isaac when the time was right and not before.  Perhaps Sarah was able to appreciate Isaac more because he was the son she bore both Abraham in his old age and at a time when she was well past the childbearing age.

Praise

 

 

 

 

Drawing by Artwiredmedia.com

 

My precious Lord, I love You, and I offer praise to You
For choosing me to be Your child, and for the things You do.

I talk to You throughout the day, and sometimes through the night.
With loving arms You cradle me, and take away my fright.

I never have to walk alone, for You are by my side,
Encouraging and comforting, my stumbling steps to guide.

Although I cannot fully comprehend salvation’s plan,
Or why the earth’s Creator chose to die for sinful man,

I thank You for the love that bore the cross, my debt to pay,
And for the sacred blood that flowed to take my sins away.

My heart finds solace just to know that You’ve prepared a place
Where some day I will live with You, a trophy of Your grace.

You’ve been so wonderful to me, so faithful through the years,
Supplying all my deepest needs, and drying all my tears,

That praises seem inadequate; mere words cannot express
My thankfulness and awe at Your majestic holiness.

I can but sing a song of love, a hymn of heartfelt praise,
As humbly I bow down to You in worship all my days.

            Written by: Betty Jo Mings

Are You Ready For Love?

A good relationship isn’t a game you play or an ego trip you take. It is about love and two people. Loving someone can give us the greatest joy we can ever know and it can hurt more than we can believe too. When it does not really hurt when that person did something disappointing to you, but really hurts when you see that person in pain and sadness, then you know you truly love that person.

Loving someone means you should be ready to experience heartache and happiness at the same time. That’s the reward and that’s the risk. Unless we are willing to experience it, we will never really know what it’s like to love and be loved.

Sharing love is probably the most valuable and meaningful experience a person can ever have. And there’s a difference between being in love with someone and loving someone. It’s the difference between a love that’s fickle, wild and short-lived and one that’s tender and passionate, nurturing and lasts a long time. The first is easy. The second, the one that really matters to all of us, takes work — because it’s about keeping a relationship.

Loving someone takes efforts. We have to be able to communicate with each other. Nobody can read anyone else’s mind. We always presume that our partner knows what we think and feel. Maybe in time we might be able to predict or sense each other’s thoughts but it’s never perfect and takes time to develop.

Getting the chance to love and be loved by someone is blessed. Respect him/her for who he/she is, and not what you want him/her to be. Everyone is pretty and special in his/her own special way. No one is perfect. It is true love, which closes the gap of imperfectness to form a smooth surface of acceptance for each other. True love sees and accepts a person for who he/she is. It is also true love, which makes a person change for the better.

The power of true love to a person is undeniable.

A relationship needs commitments too. What is love without commitments from each other anyway? It’s like principles and values. Everyone has them but they only mean as much as we are willing to stand for them.

The same goes for our commitments to relationships, and the person we love.

“Love is like an antique vase. It’s hard to find, hard to get, but easy to break.”

Every day everywhere, people fall in love … but just how many of these relationships are self-sacrificing love, and not just relationships which are formed only for the intense feeling of falling in love? I know hundreds of friends who say the magical words “I love you”… but more often than not, the truth is just — I am IN love with you. There is a difference between being in love with someone and loving someone. If a person says he/she is in love with you, he/she means that he/she likes you for who you are now and he/she fell in love with you because of the present you.

This kind of love is temporary and lasts only as long as the fairytale lasts. When fairy godmother comes in at midnight to whirl us back to reality, we see the heartache of such a relationship…where both were only IN love with each other.

But if a person says he/she loves you, he/she means that he/she loves you unconditionally for who you are now, who you were in the past and who you might be in the future. When he/she says he/she loves you and really means it, you have to ask yourself if you love him/her too or if you’re in love with the idea of being in love. It is very hard to see the difference through logical thinking.

Let your heart guide you. May you be blessed on your soul-searching journey for your soul mate.

Source:  The Internet