Faithful Exiles: Finding Hope in a Hostile WorldExemplo

Exile is about waiting, and waiting is hard.

Sarah waited for decades. She faced difficulty and danger—and she dealt with her own sin. But God is faithful to fulfill his word to his people. He is the God “who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist” (Rom. 4:17). This is the God whom Abraham and Sarah left kindred and country to worship. He’s the God who sustained them through famine and danger and dysfunction. The One who creates out of nothing is the One who promised them a son. And God keeps his promises. He is a God on whom we can wait.

Sarah is named a hero of the faith in Hebrews. Is this surprising to you? It doesn’t mean she was a superhero. Her faith wobbled here and there. It even teetered on the brink. Like when she took Hagar and gave her to Abraham to produce the promised offspring. Or her reaction when the Lord said she would bear the promised son: “Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?’” (Gen. 18:12).

But Hebrews says, “By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised” (11:11). God put Sarah in a place where it was clear that, apart from him, there was no way for her to conceive. She tried but couldn’t make it happen. It was God who brought life to her womb. There were highs and lows in Sarah’s life, like in each of ours, but Hebrews confirms the basic direction of her life was Godward. For all her stumbles, she was ultimately, through a journey of many years, characterized by faith.

So take heart. God is utterly reliable as we wait, even when in the waiting he calls us to do things that don’t make sense. Imagine Sarah, 90 years old and pregnant. She belonged in the geriatric ward, not the maternity ward! But in the end, Sarah didn’t look at her age, her physical condition, or her husband. She looked to God’s promise and was given a son.

Peter uses Sarah as an example of a godly woman adorned not with external enhancements but with “the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious” (1 Pet. 3:4). She’s the mother of all women who hope in God, all who “do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” She showed her hope in God by living a faithful life day to day with a disposition of submission toward her husband: “Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (v. 6). Sarah waited, doing good and fighting fear. And the God in whom she hoped was true to his word. Not even her sin could thwart his promises. The promised son was born.