Day 2: God Sees You
Read: Genesis
16:1-15
When Abraham was 75 years old and childless, God promised to make him into a great nation, telling him, “all the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:1-3). It would be 25 lo-oo-ong years before Abraham would see even the smallest hint of that promise being fulfilled, with the birth of his son Isaac.
In this passage, we see that 10 years had passed since God made that promise to Abraham, and there were still no children! Sarah decided to take matters into her own hands, impatient that she had not yet seen God fulfill His promises to them. So, she gave Abraham her maid servant to bear children for her. But with this lack of faith came some serious problems. The lines between servant and family member became blurred. Sarah became jealous, and ultimately blamed all this on Abraham—even though it was her idea in the first place! This is what will inevitably happen when we try to take over for God, rather than waiting on God and allowing Him to work in our lives.
And so the angel of the Lord finds Hagar, Sarah’s servant, pregnant with Abraham’s child, having run away from Sarah’s harsh treatment, alone and stranded in the middle of the desert.
Here we have 3 people who did not handle the situation well: (1) Sarah, who jumped the gun and tried to do things her own way, then got angry and tried to blame everyone else when she felt the dissatisfaction we always feel when we are not following God’s plan; (2) Abraham, who went along with the plan instead of clinging to God’s promises, and then, when things started to go wrong, refused to help solve the problem; and (3) Hagar, who tried to run away from the problem.
But God demonstrates His wonderful ability to “work all things for good” (Romans 8:28). Abraham and Sarah still receive the promised son they so desperately wanted, and God took care of Hagar too, in spite of Abraham’s unwillingness to get involved.
The angel told Hagar to go back to her mistress, and promised her that God would also give her more descendants than she could count. He said that she would have a son, and that she should name him Ishmael, which means, “God hears,” for the Lord had heard her cry of distress there in the desert wasteland. Hagar was amazed that God would take notice of a lowly servant girl, a runaway slave who found herself pregnant and alone, in the middle of a bad situation. Scripture tells us that from that time on, Hagar referred to God as “El Roi,” or “The God Who Sees Me.”
There are some names of God that are only going to be revealed in the wilderness. Too often, we want the revelation of God, but we don’t want to spend the time in the wilderness.
Do you find yourself in a desert season? Are you feeling lost and alone, caught in the middle of a bad situation? Do not fear. That same God who heard Hagar’s cries in the desert, hears your cries as well. The God who saw Hagar in her distress, sees you too, and He cares. This same God who turned a bad situation around for good can turn your circumstances head over heels into something wonderful too! He is the God Who Hears, and the God Who Sees You!
Listen:
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