awake & free: Look Up and Be Free//Steph

“Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him...Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.” And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.” The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast. But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” Gen 21:1-3, 6-10

Sarah waited until she was 90 for a child! You would think after that long she would be so delighted to be a mom that nothing could steal her joy. But here she is in Gen 21 having a party because Isaac has been weaned. Side note: How fun that they had a party when she no longer needed to breastfeed! When did that tradition stop? Anyways they're all feasting at Isaac’s party and doing the Cha Cha Slide when Sarah sees him – Abraham’s son Ishmael who he had with her servant Hagar. Now before you think Abraham is a sleazeball let's remember it was Sarah's idea for him to make a baby with Hagar (Gen. 16). But Instead of standing firm on God’s plan he gave in to his wife's plan.

So Sarah sees this boy Ishmael who is probably a teenager at this time “mocking” Isaac and she is not happy. She stops being thankful and rejoicing over what the Lord has done. Instead she looks around at what else is going on. Then she looks to the future worrying about Isaac’s inheritance. It's not enough that she has a husband who loves her and a child she longed for for so long (proof of God’s love and provision). Her worry causes her to want to be in control and she goes straight to Abraham to tell her the latest plan she has come up with; get rid of Hagar and Ishmael.

Let's pause here because don't we do the same thing? We look around instead of looking up to the One who has blessed us so much already. We look at what we don't have yet, what others have now, what might happen someday, and the list goes on. Some of us even come up with our own plans to get what we want and keep what we have, instead of simply trusting the One who loves us. We call this manipulation and I am guilty of it.

Let's be women who look up. Women who are grateful and are free to be happy for others even if they have something we want. There will always be people who have less than we do and we will always have something to be grateful for. Sarah let someone else steal her joy for that moment and she never got that time back. She missed part of the joy of being present during her son's party and she didn't get to go back in time and re-do that day.

I need to be reminded of this truth myself. I have had a few seasons of waiting and waiting until God blesses me even though I don't deserve it. When I finally have what I wanted I start thinking how it could be better or bigger or nicer. Or I worry that He will take away what I wanted. God wants more for us though. He wants us to enjoy the peace of a content heart and to be free from worry. Let's look up to Him instead of looking around at what others have or what might happen. Spend a few minutes contemplating these three questions.

What prayers has God answered that I haven't stopped to thank Him for?

What is it that steals my joy and distracts me from having a thankful heart?

How can I move forward from here and be intentional to "look up”?