THE GREAT FAITH OF SARAH

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By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.  Hebrews 11:11

Translated, the word considered means, “to think about carefully and thoroughly to form a proper judgment.” Sarah carefully and thoroughly thought about the faithfulness of God, and the result was faith—total confidence in God’s character.

“The writer here chose to introduce his first heroine of faith, one who was able to overlook the physical limitation of her own barrenness to become a fruitful mother. Her faith, in fact, contributed to the startling multiplication of her husband’s seed, when old Abraham was as good as dead.”

A television program preceding the 1988 Winter Olympics featured blind skiers training for slalom skiing. Paired with sighted skiers, the blind skiers learned on the flats how to make right and left turns. After that, they learned to navigate the slalom slope in the same manner. As they trusted and obeyed the sighted skiers, they were able to cross the finish line. They depended solely on the sighted skiers’ word. It was either trust or catastrophe.

We are the blind skiers attempting to navigate the slopes of life. But fortunately, we have a faithful Guide directing us. If we trust Him, we will finish the course. And we can trust Him because He is faithful and perfect in integrity. Integrity is a rigid, unyielding, and steadfast adherence to the truth. Faith is impossible without it. Because God is perfect in integrity, we have a strong foundation for our confidence in God.

Great faith focuses on the faithfulness of God.

Apply

1. Total trust in God’s character results in complete confidence in His Word. Recount how you have encountered the faithfulness of God firsthand.
2. Constant meditation on God’s Word produces faith, obedience, and success. But it is not always easy to do. What are some of the obstacles you face that hinder you from meditating on God’s Word? What is one action step you can take immediately to start increasing the amount of time you spend meditating on God’s Word?

Pray

Confession of Faith

Adapted from Proverbs 3:5–6; Psalms 125:1, 1:1–3, 112:7, 118:6; Hebrews 4:14, 10:23, 3:1;
Deuteronomy 30:11, 14.

I trust in You with all my heart, and I do not lean on my own understanding. In all my ways I acknowledge You. You will make my paths straight. For those who trust in You are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever. 

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord. My delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law I meditate both day and night. I am like a tree planted by the water; I will not fear when the heat comes. I am not anxious in a year of drought, and I continue to yield fruit. I will never be shaken. For my heart is steadfast, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

Because I have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, I hold fast the confession of my faith without wavering. Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of my confession. His commandment is not too difficult for me, nor is it out of reach. But the word is very near me, in my mouth and in my heart, that I should observe it. 

Memorize

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.  Hebrews 11:6

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”

—Corrie Ten Boom, Dutch War Hero and Author