I have been rereading Genesis and was struck by a simply word picture. As you remember when we first meet Sarah, her name is Sarai. As you read through the chapters that record her early life we see that not only was there an “I” in her name but there was an “I” in her attitude.
Depending on the translation you read, you will find statements such as I have no child, I have a servant girl, I will give her to my husband, I will have a son that way, etc. There was a whole lot of “i-ing” going on there. But before I jumped on her reputation too fast, I began to listen to my speech. Oh my, how many I, me, my, and mine’s there were. So I quickly realized I was in class with the Holy Spirit again.
HE then brought me to the book of Hebrews to what we call the Hall of Faith. God’s last mention of her is spelled Sarah and HE records her as a woman of great faith, one we should aspire to be the daughter of. Wow, only God could jump from someone whose selfishness birthed a nation we are dealing with in this age to a woman with a faith worthy of recording.
Somewhere along the line (you can easily find it in scripture) Sarai dropped the “I” in her attitude. She began to live out the name God gave her, Sarah.
You and I have the same opportunity. The world or at times our experiences tells us our name should be spelled, “rejected, impoverished, failure, loser, angry, resentful, etc”. But God calls us by a different name. HE calls us loved, provided for, a success, a winner, peaceful, and forgiving, etc. The same way Sarai had to be willing to spell her name differently when writing or pronounce it differently when speaking, we have to choose to drop the names we have been burdened by. She could have continued to correct Abraham each time he spoke the new version of her name. But instead she chose to embrace it. When she did, things around her changed. All because she dropped the “I”.
Let’s teach ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit to not be so “me” centered. Embrace the fact that the world does not revolve around us and our “I” moments. Let’s follow the example of Christ on earth. Daily HE laid down HIS life for HIS friends. HE lived HIS life for the benefit and joy of others. Always doing what would bless them. And in doing so HE was filled with joy and peace because that type of living is the heart of the FATHER.