Walking in Sarai’s Story

Wife. Mother.  

These were the identities Sarai's culture offered her. As a young teenager, she had dutifully fulfilled the role of wife, but the role of mother eluded her.  

Each month, she waited in expectation for the telltale signs that a baby was on the way, only to find her hope pushed to the next month. And the next. At first, she was disappointed, but as the months and years stretched by with no child, disappointment surely gave way to despair.  

For decades, Sarai sat on the sidelines of motherhood as her neighbors' bellies swelled with new life. Wistfully, she watched as their arms filled with babies, and then, as those babies grew faster than the reeds along the banks of the nearby Balikh River in her hometown of Harran.  

From the quiet, tidy stillness of her home, she listened as boys and girls ran past outside, their voices calling out to each other in play. 

How many nights did Sarai cry herself to sleep, begging God for a child before years of emptiness robbed her supplications of their fervor, and hope died completely?  

Then, when her neighbors' children had grown old enough to have children, even grandchildren, of their own, Sarai's tidy, quiet, empty life was interrupted - upended even - by God's call and promise. 

"Go," the command came, "from your country, your people, and your father's household .... " 

Words that cut like a knife, severing Sarai from all she knew, and more importantly, from the safety and provision that life afforded her. God didn't even bother to get specific about where to go, simply saying that He would show them on the way.  

But His command came with something better than a relocation plan; it came with a promise. 

"I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you .... "  

A great nation?  

But Sarai was old now, far past the years of childbearing. How could God bring a great nation from her husband when her womb had yet to produce one small child?  

A flicker of hope. One wrinkled hand instinctively falling to rest on her lower abdomen. Could it be?  

Wife. Mother. These were the only identities afforded her by her culture, and although God would grant Sarai's desire to be a mother, He deemed her more.  

*Sarai, the strong .. . 

Sarai, the blessed .. .  

Sarai, the beloved, crowned with dignity ...  

Made in the image of God. 

*In Genesis 17:15, God changes Sarai's name to "Sarah," which means, "a fortification." 

Scripture Reading 

Read the Scripture below for the Bible’s introduction to Sarai and to learn more about God’s promise to Sarai. 

Genesis 11 :29-12:5 N1v  

Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor's wife was Milkah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milkah and Iskah. Now Sarai was childless because she was not able to conceive.  

Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and together they set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. But when they came to Harran, they settled there.  

Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Harran.  

The LORD had said to Abram, "Go from your country, your people and your father's household to the land I will show you. 

I will make you into a great nation,  
and I will bless you;  
I will make your name great,  
and you will be a blessing.  
I will bless those who bless you,  
and whoever curses you I will curse;  
and all peoples on earth 
will be blessed through you.” 

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. 

Let’s Review 

Sarai's culture defined her worth by her status as wife and mother. What are some ways our culture seems to define women? 

In today's story, we imagine what it must have been like for Sarai to watch her neighbors grow their families when she couldn't. Most of us struggle with feelings of self-doubt as we compare ourselves to others. How have you experienced this? 

At the end of our story, Sarai is severed from all she knows in Harran and the provision and protection her home and her husband's family afforded her. Imagine you were in Sara i's place. What emotions might you have experienced? How do you think the situation would have impacted your relationship with God? 

Application 

Sarai was made in the image of God, and therefore, possessed her own unique identity independent of any other defining characteristics or roles. Her culture, however, offered her no individual identity other than wife and mother.  

Sarai dutifully became a bride at a young age, but her secondary cultural identity, that of mother, eluded her.  

Of course, Sarai had no power over whether she conceived. Her inability to do so was not a character flaw nor did it diminish her worth as a child of God in any way.  

Even so, the cacophony of lesser voices attacking her self-worth as a "barren'' woman would have surely been difficult to ignore.  

There are countless voices in our lives that seek to tell us who we are, or more often, who we are not. These false standards of "worthiness" inevitably lead to harm. At the very least, we become harried and exhausted as we try to keep up with the images we see on social media-images that are filtered and lives that have been edited to show us a falsified reality with which we will never be able to compete.  

So what is the answer?  

We need the same thing Sarai needed: we need to know what God thinks of us. Listening to what He has to say about our identity in a world that relentlessly tries to define us is a breath of fresh air that leads to joy and freedom!  

God's view of us is always gentle and loving, always graced with dignity. We are image bearers of God, loved beyond all measure, precious in His sight. 

Prompt 

Which voices in your world threaten to define your identity? Not sure? Here’s a hint: they are the voices that likely leave you feeling “less than.” Write a prayer below asking God to heal you from the scars those voices have left behind, then ask Him for ears to hear what He alone has to say about who you are in Him. 

Dig Deeper 

Psalm 139:13-14  
Song of Songs 6:9 
Psalm 17:7-9 

*This was an excerpt from From Where I Stand: A 30-Day Journey with the Women of the Bible from Sherri Gragg and Shanna Noel.  

Looking for more inspiration? Browse our entire Devotional Library and sign up for our e-newsletter to receive free articles, updates from our Ecard Studio as well as exclusive deals.