Today’s post focuses on the 30 day Bible study on patience that I created for the month of September. If you want to join in, you can download the calendar and information sheet below.
September 2016 Bible Study Calendar
30 Day Patience Bible Study Info
Each Monday on the calendar includes the study of specific people in the Bible who demonstrated patience. On Tuesdays (like today!) we will be discussing the study on the blog.
Yesterday’s reading was Genesis 15:1-6; Genesis 17:1-21; Genesis 21:1-7 and focused on the story of Sarah and Abraham.
I kind of feel like a kindred spirit with Sarah.
When she was told she would bear a son, she laughed and then lied and said that she didn’t laugh. She was 90-years-old when she had her son, Isaac. I think I’d be tempted to laugh if I was closing in on 90 and God told me I would give birth to a child.
What also makes me feel close with Sarah is how she tried to control her situation.
God had told Abraham in a vision that he would have a son. Time passed, and Sarah and Abraham grew impatient, so they took matters into their own hands with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar.
Sarah told Abraham to sleep with Hagar so he could have a son. Hagar became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Ishmael. This caused all sorts of trouble for Sarah, Abraham, Hagar, and Ishmael.
Don’t we all do things like that, though? We get tired of waiting on God, so we try to take matters into our own hands. We don’t want to wait, so we force our plans into existence when God’s plans for us are so much better.
Part of me feels like Sarah believed she would have a child because God said she would, but maybe she was so bitter by that time that all she felt like she could do was laugh. I think Sarah had patience against all odds. She waited on God, and God was patient with her, too.
Sarah went on to give birth to her son, Isaac, and said in Genesis 21:6 “God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me.”
Sarah wasn’t perfect. She had trouble waiting on God. She was human, just like us. Her waiting paid off, and she was rewarded with Isaac, whose name means “he laughs.”
I have included a printable below that incorporates questions about Sarah’s story as well as your own for personal reflection on the study.
30 Day Patience Bible Study – Sarah
If you’re following along with the study, I hope you’re enjoying it! Next week we will be studying Jesus. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them in the comments or send me an email at alliezottola (at) gmail (dot) com.
P.S. The Nature’s Bakery Fig Bar giveaway winner is Ellie. Your fig bars will be sent to you ASAP! Thanks again, Nature’s Bakery!
Living My Full Life 