April 20, 2023
Reading: Genesis 16
Focus: 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 seen the One who sees me.”
Have you ever had someone give you a task and you tell them you’ve got it and that they don’t need to worry, it will get done? Then, while you are getting things together in a manner that will complete the task correctly and in a timely manner, they jump in a do something that messes it up. Well, that’s what Sarai did. She didn’t take God at His Word and jumped in to see if she could help God move matters along. Not only did she bring about the birth of child whose descendants would be enemies of her own son’s descendants. She gave herself someone to be jealous of. Neither event was a good thing.
Abram was in his mid to late 80’s and still had no son. While Abram seemed content to wait on the Lord, who promised him a son, Sarai grew impatient. She figured that God probably had something else in mind. So, Sarai decided to help and took matters into her own hand. She had a slave named Hagar who had probably been brought with them when they left Egypt. It was common practice in those day to give a handmaid to the husband, so that any baby born could be raised as the wife’s child. Sarai brought Hagar to Abram and told him that she could probably have a family through her. And Abram agreed! What was he thinking?
He took her as a wife and slept with her. Nature took its course and Hagar was pregnant. Can I tell you that Sarai was not happy? Every time she looked at Hagar, she was reminded that she was barren. I can tell you from personal experience that not being able to have a child is emotionally and mentally painful. Before we met the baby boy who would become our son, I hated to go to church when they were dedicating new babies. It hurt just to look at those precious children. We pastored a small church for a while during this time in our lives. I had to hold the baby up for the congregation to see after the blessing. I can tell you I know exactly how Sarai felt. But I cannot tell you how she felt seeing another woman carrying her husband’s child. That had to be even worse.
To rub salt into a wound, Hagar began to make the most of it too. She looked down on her mistress because she was carrying the master’s child. She tormented Sarai about her barrenness. She showed off her pregnant belly in front of Sarai as often as she could. I imagine that she slacked off too because of the baby.
Sarai fumed. She was so angry at Hagar’s actions that she went to Abram and blamed him for the suffering she was enduring at the hands of Hagar. She even said, “May the Lord judge between you and me.” (Genesis 16: 5). One would think that she had had nothing to do with the situation to begin with. But when we get in God’s way, often the result of our meddling makes a bad mess worse. Abram washed his hand of it and told Sarai to do what she wanted.
Sarai made Hagar’s life miserable. I have tell you that Hagar was having to deal with the consequences of other people’s choices for her. She was not at fault for being pregnant. She had done what her mistress had required her to do. But, Sarai mistreated her and probably worked her until she couldn’t move ye the end of the day. Hagar was so miserable that she packed up and ran away. I am sure that I would probably have done the same thing. That took a great deal courage considering where they lived. In the desert.
Hagar stopped at a spring. She was alone, pregnant and no means of support. An angel found her there. He called her by name and asked the obvious question, “Where did you come from and where are you going?” I don’t know about you but if an angel came to me and called me by name, I’d be a little nervous. She told him. The angel of the Lord told her to go back. AND he gave her a promise. Her son would be named Ishmael because the Lord heard her misery. She was to go back and submit to Sarai. He told her of her son’s future and he would a “wild donkey of a man.” He would be against all and all would be against him. A rather dire prophecy, but God had seen her and answered her. The well where the angel found her is called Beer Lahia Roi. It is supposed to still be there today between Kadesh and Berad.
Hagar returned to Abram’s camp. She did what the angel of Lord told her to do. When the time came, the child was born and was named Ishmael.
There are two ways that we take our needs to God. One, we take the need on the palms of our hands and hold it out to God but keep a grip on it. Then when we have prayed about it, we carry the problem away with us because we never really laid it down. We don’t leave it there with Him. We then try to help God answer our need. Two, we take our need to God and leave it there hands down. Then when we’ve prayed about it, we can’t pick it up and take it with us. Our hands are outstretched, palms down and empty. Since we left it laying in front of God, He has control of the need and we only need to trust Him with it.
Human beings, for the most part, are not very patient. We want answers yesterday. We don’t like waiting in line, or on hold, or even at a red light. Many is the time that we ask God to help and we wait impatiently for Him to answer and jump in to help Him when the answer doesn’t arrive quick enough. God does not need our help to answer prayers. God sees our need long before we even know we have that need. Some (not many) can wait patiently for God to act but many of us try to give God a hand, which only makes things worse. God saw our need for a Savior centuries before He sent Jesus to us. Jesus looked across centuries to see all of our need for Him as He hung on the cross.
There have been times when I have wondered if God even knows if I exist. Then I find out He has been working on me and things in my life all along. I find myself amazed that God sees me clearly in this world among billions of people. God sees the whole puzzle of my life from above. He sees how the pieces fit, how the events match up. He sees the colors, the edges and the whole picture of my life from start to finish. At times, I may only see a single piece of my puzzle when God is moving on to the next. I cannot see how the whole thing fits together. I only see my part of the puzzle, from the bottom where it is plain cardboard brown.
I know that sounds cliché and trite, but it’s true. God sees us all. Knows us all, down to the smallest atom of our bodies. He sees the corners of our lives where we won’t even go. He has His hand in our creation, our living, our achievements and even our failures. To tell you the truth, I am glad that I cannot see all of my life. I am glad I don’t know my future other than my eternity with God. I think it would flat out scare me to death. So, I am going to just let God handle my life and follow where He leads me. How about you?
Don’t ever doubt that God sees you. Don’t ever doubt that He has His Hand on you. Don’t ever doubt that the puzzle of your life has all the necessary pieces. God has them all and He will answer your needs exactly when you need an answer. Not a second before and not a second after; on time, every time.
Where does God see you?
Food for Thought
- Do you think that Sarai regretted trying to help God provide a son for Abram?
- Why do you think Hagar felt it was easier to runaway than to stay?
- Why did the angel tell Hagar to return to her mistress, Sarai?
- Are there parts of your life that seem to be on hold right now?
- Have you ever run from a situation rather than face it? Did it help?
