Daily Devotional for Tuesday, January 21

Sarah Was a Freewoman

"For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman;' Galatians 4:22.

Abraham's wife was first mentioned in Genesis 11:29 as Sarai, whom God later named Sarah. The first thing we found out about her was that she could not have children (verse 30). There is no mention that this was aproblem until God promised Abraham descendants. When Abraham was seventy-five years old, the Lord promised to make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:2, 3) and that all nations would be blessed through him, his lineage. There was just one problem. Sarah still had no children, and she was already sixty-five years old.

The Lord continued to reiterate His promise to Abraham for an heir (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 15:4; 15:18), so Sarah, not wanting her husband to miss out on the promise of an heir, suggested that he take her slave to bear his child. We learn in Genesis 17 that God would not have His promised heir born into slavery, but in freedom through Sarah. God told Abraham their son would be born the next year and would be named Isaac and that the covenant would be established through him. In the next chapter, Abraham and Sarah were visited by messengers of God who told of the son they would have within the year. This time, Sarah heard the words for herself, and her immediate reaction was to laugh because it seemed impossible that a ninety-year-old woman would be able to have a baby; however, in Genesis 21, Isaac was born just as God ordained.

Many times, we see God work in a way that is only possible through His mighty power. This was the case with His promise to Abraham and Sarah. It is through the humanly impossible moments that God's miracle­ working power can be most on display.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Let God's power work in you. He can do far more than you can ever imagine.

Ashley Ridings