Faith is a journey, a pursuit.  It is not something we conquer all at once.  It is a process of growth.  In Sarah we see the reality that it is an imperfect pursuit.  But we also see that God's grace is sufficient even for our mistakes (see 2 Corinthians 12:9).  As we look at Sarah's journey of faith, we see much of ourselves.  What makes her faith more amazing is that she did not have the benefit of the Word of God as we do now.  Today we want to look at how we can apply the lessons from Sarah's life to our own faith.

One of the things we saw this week was that, for Sarah, faithfulness to God meant being faithful to Abraham.  She had been placed in relationship to him and was accountable.  Each life has accountable relationships, and some of those relationships are to those God has placed in authority over us.  Our obedience to those in authority is important to God.  This does not mean that we cannot point out when we think authority is wrong, but regardless, we are accountable to the authorities in our lives.  When we try to determine if we think authority is right before we are willing to obey, we have placed ourselves as judge, and we are wrong.

Questions (Print and Study or just pick up your bible, a pen, and a few sheets of paper and step into the Bible Study Lesson.

God does not want our help---He wants our obedience.  Sarah made a mistake when she tried to help out God with a worldly plan.  Can you think of a time you tried to help out God with your own plan instead of seeking Him for His plan?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

What were the consequences?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

When a child did not come in Sarah's timing, she began to doubt the promise of God.  God kept waiting until a child was humanly impossible.  At that point, Sarah struggled with the challenge of believing God or believing her circumstances.

APPLY!!  Have you been there?  Are there any situations in your life right now, where your circumstances seem to be saying one thing though God's Word says another?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Sarah's life shows us that past faith is no guarantee of future victory.  Every day we must trust God, and we cannot face the challenges of today on yesterday's faith.  Have you been surprised to discover that your old way of doing things is still around?  Are there some examples in your own life of old failures creeping up again?

_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________

Remember that it is God who must work through us if faith is to be realized.  When we fail, we must confess our failure to trust Him, and we must yield ourselves afresh to His will and way.