The day was dark and cloudy. A storm was brewing in the distance and Sarah could hear the faint sounds of thunder. She wrapped herself a little tighter in the brightly colored wrap as a chill ran down her spine. She shuddered and closed her eyes. The thought of what she had done flooded her mind. She shook her head in shame and let out a gasp. Tears and sobs soon followed. She knelt down on the cold, hard floor and wept and wept.

Oh the bitter sting of regret. We have all experienced a moment like Sarah when sheer, cold panic sets in and we realize a tremendous mistake has been made. Self doubt takes over, shame sets in and rather than turning to the One who will carry us through, we set out to fix it ourselves.

We are first introduced to Sarah, Abraham’s wife, at the young age of 65. Scripture notes that Sarah was a beautiful woman, but despite all her beauty, one problem plagued her day after day. She was barren and unable to conceive a child—something she wanted more than anything.

The years wore on for Sarah, and still she remained childless.  day came when she grew tired of waiting on the Lord to fulfill this longing deep within her. She decided to take matters into her own hands and convinced her maidservant Hagar and her husband Abraham to conceive a child together. They did, and Hagar became pregnant. Scripture says that after Hagar conceived, she began to despise Sarah (Genesis 16:4). I tend to think she acted haughty toward Sarah because she had the one thing Sarah wanted more than anything.

Can you imagine the regret Sarah must have felt in that moment? Not only was Hagar pregnant with Abraham’s child, but now she despised Sarah. In the midst of anger and hurt, Sarah lashed out at Abraham with these words, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. (Genesis 16:5)”

Sound familiar? Okay, maybe not this exact scenario, but how often in the turmoil of our mistakes do we lash out at others and cast blame? Emotions take over and we wonder how we arrived at this place. We let a moment of weakness dictate our lives…… until something amazing happens. We find forgiveness from our mistakes. We find comfort in knowing God has heard our cries. We find hope and strength to move forward.

Sarah did move forward. She learned to live with her mistake as it played out in front of her day after day. Thirteen years passed from the time Ishmael was born from Hagar. Abraham was almost 100 years old and Sarah was 89. The Lord said to Abraham, “I will bless her (Sarah) and will surely give you a son by her. I will bless her so that she will be the mother of nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Genesis 17:16

Can you imagine? All that Sarah had hoped and prayed for was coming to fruition. Certainly it was not her timing, but the Almighty God’s. “Then the Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say will I have a child now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” (Genesis 18:13-14) In my opinion, Sarah’s laughter was not out of disrespect to God. I have a feeling she was more overcome with surprise and joy by this Word from the Lord

Sarah did in fact give birth to Isaac. The Lord’s promise was fulfilled. “Sarah said, ‘God has brought me laughter and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me (Genesis 21:6)” I love it that the name Isaac means laughter. To me this is a sign that Sarah lived out her life with joy. The bitterness and regret of her past disappeared. Her hope was realized, as was God’s faithfulness.