Lilac Ministries

Bible Study Lessons

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Scripture: Genesis 11:29 - 12:5

Topic: Sarai's Journey

This month, we will be following Sarai/Sarah on her life journey. This godly woman lived at a time when a wife was fully expected to "obey" her husband. She also lived with the social stigma of being childless, which in her day was equivalent to being "cursed by God." I hope that as we follow her journey, we will see how God had NO curse for her, but instead was busy preparing blessings along her way.

We opened by asking ourselves about key points when our lives undergo a major change. Some of our thoughts were: beginning school, graduation, marriage, birth of children, empty nest, retirement and old age when health fails.

We picked up Sarai’s story at the transition of marriage and moving. She marries Abram (Abraham) and moves from Ur with his family to live in Haran. Then, Abram receives word from God to leave his family roots and move far away to Canaan.

We asked, “How do we discern when God is calling us to do something?” There’s no easy answer. Some of our thoughts were that sometimes it’s an answer to our prayers (we’ve been wanting it), sometimes it takes hearing from God several times, and sometimes it takes talking it through - in Abram’s case, perhaps with his wife, Sarai.

Bearing in mind that women were pretty much a husband’s “property” at that time, we recognized that Sarai may have had little say in the matter, but it does seem that Abram respected her opinion and loved her. We talked about the challenges involved in following our or a spouse’s calling. Some of our thoughts had to do with handling the financial transition, having to “push” when the other spouse is reluctant to leave, and giving up the known things of life for the unknown.

In closing, we recognized that when we face major life transitions, we need to listen carefully for God’s leading. We also need to include others who are affected by the transition. Change is seldom easy, but with the Lord as our guide, and having one spirit with our spouse/companion, we can make the journey well.