Genesis 11:30 But Sarai was barren; she had no child.
Have you noticed that people identify you by certain characteristics? It is always interesting how you are known when people forget your name. For instance, they might forget your name, but they might say, “Oh, the guy with the ugly shoes,” or “the lady with the nice hair,” or “the people with the beautiful car.” People characterize you by something they remember about you.
In Genesis you have the story of a couple who are very crucial to the rest of the Bible. That couple is Abram and Sarai, better known as Abraham and Sarah. Theirs is a story that is continued throughout the rest of the Old Testament and the rest of the Bible all the way to Revelation. It is the story of Jesus Christ. God was going to send His only begotten Son through the son that He would give to Abraham and Sarah.
When you get to Genesis 11:30, it is interesting how God introduces Sarah to us. He brings out a characteristic that is perhaps the most important to remember. Sarah was barren. She had no child and she could have no child. Why is that the first thing that God tells us about this couple? The answer is that God makes this promise: “I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing.” This was to a couple who didn’t even have a family. The rest of Genesis, the story of this family and the children of this family, is about God’s promise to send His Son through the seed of Abraham.
Later on in the chapter you have Abraham fearful for his life because there was a famine. He went down to Egypt, and twice it happened that Abraham told Sarah to tell people she was his sister so they wouldn’t kill him to get her. Sarah was a beautiful woman and Pharaoh did indeed take her into his harem before God intervened to protect her. What do these stories have in common? The commonality is that God’s promise is being tested. How could Abraham starve if he was going to be the father of a great nation? He couldn’t. How could Abraham and Sarah be parents of a great nation if Sarah was in Pharaoh’s harem? They couldn’t. So, all these stories are about God’s promise and the keeping of it.
There are a few things to remember from this. First, expect God’s Word to be tested. If God has said something, you can expect that it and you will be tested. All of us are people of great virtue until we are hungry, scared, or our backs are against the wall. We can look at people in third-world countries and say, “I would never act that way.” But we will never know because we will never be that hungry. I’m not exonerating someone for stealing, but a lot of times our virtues are never tested. So, expect that you and God’s Word will be tested in your life. There is no faith if there is not some contesting of what God has said. Will you trust God and what He has said?
Second, expect God to keep His Word. You’ve got to know what God’s Word says if you are going to expect God to keep it, but we are talking about more than a feeling. We are not talking merely about faith over fear. Now I agree with that as long as we recognize that faith and fearlessness are not exactly the same thing. One is the engine and one is the caboose. Faith is fundamentally a decision. It leads to the feelings of security we want to have, but remember that faith is a decision. So, expect God to keep His Word.
There are three applications. First, there is salvation. Have you ever doubted your salvation as far as a feeling of insecurity? Remember, your salvation is not based on what you do, but on what Christ has done. You are depending on Him. There are days I don’t feel like I’m saved, but I need to make sure my feelings are subservient to the facts. “He that hath the Son hath life.” If I’m living for the devil, I will wonder about that, but God will not wonder. Expect God to keep His Word regarding salvation.
How about finances? Expect God to keep His Word with regards to finances. When I do what I should, God will do what I can’t. That doesn’t mean health and wealth every day, but the Bible does give principles about possessions, how I treat them, and God’s care of me. I don’t need to worry, but to trust God.
Then there is guidance. Do you have a twenty-year plan? Well, that’s fine, but you don’t know what is going to happen tomorrow. I’m all for planning, but while you do not know for sure what the future holds, you can know that you are doing the right thing, right now. If you’ll do the right things right now and trust God, then you will be doing the right thing tomorrow, in five years, and in twenty years. So, have plans and ambition, but trust God a step at a time because God keeps His Word.
You can expect God’s Word to be tested and you can expect God to keep His Word in every area of life, salvation, finances, and guidance for daily life.