Genesis 17:15–21 ‘I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.’ (v16)
There are two types of people in life: those who act like they are the hero of the story and everything revolves around them, and those who feel they’re more like a sidekick, even in their own life.
Hero-types tend to be confident about their purpose and importance in life, whereas ‘sidekicks’ find it harder to define themselves and their purpose outside of other people.
If your role in life is mainly to serve others, you can feel like you are losing your own identity.
Sarai was the ultimate sidekick to Abram’s hero. After all, God called Abram, promised him a child and a future, so Sarai made it happen by forcing Hagar to have Abram’s child, at great personal cost.
She served, but with resentment and great wounding. God was having none of it. Sarai was not a bit part in this drama, nor merely a vessel for Abram’s success.
God loved and chose her, too, and blesses her by changing her name to Sarah and promising that just as Abraham will be the father of many nations, she will be the mother of many nations.
While society treats her as a secondary character, God says she is to be a hero. Do you ever feel sidelined in your own life, or that God has forgotten about you while the shiny happy people prosper?
Let this passage be God’s love letter to you. You are not just here to serve others, or disappear into the background, or be a cheerleader for great people, though those things have their place.
God made you on purpose and has good plans for you. If you are feeling a little lost and forgotten, may God’s blessing of Sarah, giving her purpose and a calling, also be yours today.
A Prayer To Make:
‘Dear Lord, thank You that You truly see us, and that no one is outside Your blessing. Help me to believe that today. Amen.’
An Action To Take:
If you feel like a sidekick, spend some time in prayer asking how God wants to bless you. If you’re more of a ‘hero’, today encourage someone who tends to get overlooked.
Scripture To Consider:
Gen. 16:6–14 & 29:31–35; Luke 19:1–10; Acts 9:36–42
