Genesis 16:6b-8a tells us that Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
Pastor Obie continued with three truths of God to hold onto. First, that God cares for you. This is the first instance were “the Angel of the Lord” appears in Scripture. God sought out this nameless, unseen, pregnant slave girl alone in the desert in distress, calling her by her name, and Jehovah Jireh God will seek you out in your desert place, to provide help, care and protection. Our loving Father God cares about who you are, where you have been and where you are going.
Genesis 16:8-10 continues that the angel of the Lord said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
The second truth of God to hold onto is that your Creator God has a plan for you. Hagar knew where she came from, but could not answer where she was going to. God says, get out of the desert because I have plans for you, making a covenant with her. Jeremiah 29:11 says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” The Lords dream for you a bigger than your wildest dreams.
Genesis 16:11-12 “The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
The third truth of God to hold onto is that God can change the trajectory of your life. Names in the Bibles have meaning and carry destiny. God named Hagar’s son Ishmael, which means “God hears”. Jewish, Christian and Islamic traditions consider Ishmael to be the ancestor of the Ishmaelites (Hagarenes or Arabians) and patriarch of Qaydār with descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.
Genesis 16:13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” In Hebrew, 'ēl ro-ee' means “the God who sees me”. And why? For she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” God sees you. Question: Do you see God? Romans 1:19-20 “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” God is omnipotent and omniscient, so every present everywhere, all-seeing and all-knowing. What changed was that she now sees God, and to see someone is to know them.
She knew God and that relationship held a greater weight than anything or anyone else that in her life. More than the problems that she was facing. More than the people causing those problems. She saw God and knew that God saw her back. We need to see each other more deeply, but even more we need to see God, to come into a real, deep and true relationship with Him – the God that sees us. You are seen, you are heard, you are not alone, you matter and you are loved. To know someone is to reciprocate – where they see you and you see them back. Do you see God? Do you hear God? Do you know God? Does God matter to you in your life? Do you love God? See the One who has always seen you. See that your Father is with you.
In Christ, Brian
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