Sarah Tried to Help God
Sarah Tried to Help God: The Shadow of Insecurity and Waiting
Sarah’s shadow was not just impatience. It was the fear that God’s promise might pass her by.
Sarah’s story speaks to the part of us that gets tired of waiting.
Genesis 12:2 shows us that God promised Abram He would make him a great nation. But years passed, and Sarah still had no child. By the time we get to Genesis 16:1, Scripture says, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children.”
That one sentence carries weight.
Sarah was living with a promise, but also with delay. And delay can expose shadows we did not know were there.
When the promise did not happen in her timing, Sarah tried to help God. Genesis 16:2 says Sarah told Abram to go in to her maidservant Hagar so she might obtain children through her.
That is where we see Sarah’s shadow.
Insecurity
Sarah was not just trying to create a child. She was trying to manage the pain of waiting. She was trying to control the outcome. She was trying to protect herself from disappointment. And if we are honest, many of us have done the same thing.
We say we trust God, but when the waiting gets long, we start making plans from fear. We start forcing doors. We start comparing our timeline to someone else’s. We start wondering if maybe we missed it. We start asking, “What if it never happens for me?”
That is what insecurity does.
It makes waiting feel like rejection.
It makes delay feel like denial.
It makes us believe we have to take matters into our own hands because maybe God forgot.
But Genesis 18:10 reminds us that God had not forgotten Sarah. The Lord said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Even after Sarah laughed in Genesis 18:12, God still fulfilled what He promised. Genesis 21:1 says, “And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken.”
That is powerful.
Sarah’s insecurity did not cancel God’s promise.
Her attempt to control the outcome did not make God stop being faithful.
But her shadow did create unnecessary pain.
And that is something we need to sit with.
Sometimes our shadows do not stop God’s promise, but they can create conflict while we wait. They can cause us to make decisions from fear instead of faith. They can make us involve people in our process who were never supposed to carry the weight of our insecurity.
Many women today understand Sarah.
They are waiting on healing, waiting on love, waiting on clarity, waiting on opportunity, waiting on purpose, waiting on change, waiting on something they believe God promised.
But while waiting, insecurity starts whispering.
“Maybe it is too late.”
“Maybe you are not enough.”
“Maybe you need to force it.”
“Maybe you need to settle.”
“Maybe God forgot about you.”
But Sarah reminds us that delay does not mean denial.
And waiting does not mean worthless.
Coach PBJ Final Thoughts
Sarah teaches us that insecurity often shows up when we are waiting for something we deeply desire.
And sometimes, the longer we wait, the louder the shadow gets.
But the work is learning how to wait without losing ourselves. Learning how to trust without controlling everything. Learning how to believe without forcing what God has not released yet.
Because when insecurity is leading, we may call it strategy, but sometimes it is really fear dressed up as wisdom.
Sarah’s story invites us to ask ourselves a deeper question:
Where have I been trying to help God because I am afraid He has forgotten me?
That question matters.
Because before we can shine, we have to face the shadow that makes us force what faith asked us to trust.
Call to Action
As you follow this 30 day journey through the women of the Bible, pay attention to the stories that feel personal.
If Sarah’s story speaks to you, sit with this question today:
Where has insecurity made me impatient, controlling, or afraid to wait?
Awareness is the first step toward healing.
From shadows to shine.
Join the SHIFT Community and begin your journey from shadows to shine.
Copyright © 2026 Paula Burch Jackson, Coach PBJ Speaks. All rights reserved. This content may not be copied, reproduced, republished, or used without written permission.
