When Everyone Walks Away, God Walks In
Today’s Verse:
Genesis 16:13 ESV
So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”
On Sunday, I was cleaning up a computer file where I slugged sermon ideas I've had over the years, most of which I've never used. I stumbled across one entitled, "Finding Hope in the Wilderness." It was to be a five-week sermon series exploring how God meets us in difficult situations with His presence, promise, and purpose. I thought I'd put it to good use this week.
Today's first story is about Hagar, found in Genesis 16:1-16. We often turn to the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs, those figures seemingly close to God, to find comfort and guidance. Hagar, a servant, an outsider, a woman experiencing the harsh sting of rejection and abandonment. Her story in Genesis 16 reminds us that God's care extends to the marginalized, to those who feel utterly alone.
Abram's wife, Sarai, is barren and growing impatient with God after His promise that she would bear her husband's child in her old age. She offers her servant Hagar to Abram so he might have a child through her. Hagar becomes a means to an end in this ancient custom, her desires and dignity seemingly overlooked. When Hagar conceives, the dynamic shifts, and Sarai's jealousy leads to harsh treatment. Scripture tells us that Sarai "dealt harshly with her," and Hagar fled into the wilderness.
Imagine Hagar's desperation. Pregnant, alone, and cast out into the desolate landscape. She must have felt utterly forsaken, a nobody in a world with no place for her. Have we not all, at times, felt like Hagar? We may have experienced the pain of being overlooked, the sting of rejection, the crushing weight of loneliness. Maybe we have felt abandoned by those who should have cared for us, left to wander in our wilderness.
But the story doesn't end there. In the wilderness, the angel of the Lord finds Hagar by a spring of water. This is a powerful image. In the very place of her desolation, God meets her. The angel asks, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" God sees her. He knows her name and her circumstances. He acknowledges her status, not to demean her, but to connect with her in her reality.
The angel then gives her a message of both hardship and hope. He tells her to return to Sarai and submit, yet he also promises that her offspring will be so numerous they cannot be counted. He even names her son Ishmael, meaning "God hears." Amid her pain, God hears her cries. In her abandonment, God sees her and promises her a future.
Hagar's response is profound: "So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are the God who sees me." In her deepest despair, Hagar encounters a God who is not far away, but deeply involved in her life. She recognizes that even in the wilderness, she is not unseen, as we are not to God today.
.Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Dear Lord, You are truly the God who sees me during my deep struggles and pains. Thank You for being with me and encouraging my heart always. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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