Genesis 16:7-14
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?”
“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 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
towardall his brothers.”
She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seenthe One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.”
If you don’t know Hagar’s story, I recommend you put this away and give it a read. You’ll find it in Genesis 16 and 21. In my opinion, it is one of the most underappreciated and misunderstood stories in all of scripture. The spirit of God is present and powerful in those chapters.
If you’re still here, read the verses above again. They feature something we don’t see any other time in scripture. Hagar names God. She names God out of her own experience and understanding. She names God in her desperation. She names the God of her former owners who used her and cast her aside as they tried to enact plans they did not fully understand. She names the God she has every right to reject. She names the God she could have blamed.
Can you relate to any part of her story? Can you relate to the rejection? To being an outcast? To being displaced and then discarded? Can you relate to the pain she has endured? Can you relate to finding God in those circumstances?
She kept doors open that most people would close. When others would turn their backs on God, she looked for Him. She saw the One who saw her, and she named the Lord. And there is such beauty in that thought. There is such a raw vulnerability knowing what she’d been through.
No matter what brought you to where you are right now, and no matter what is behind and ahead of you, may you find a spring in the desert. May you hear from God. May the voice of the One that holds yesterday and tomorrow also hold you and closely.
Reflect:
On the times that you’ve run away. Or given up. Or hidden.
Journal:
On how you’ve responded to those times and to God. On how you’ve seen God and how God has seen you. What would you name God?
Pray:
For an encounter wherever you are. For clear leading and the strength to obey. For a spirit of reception amidst rejection, of presence in pain. A prayer of gratitude that God sees us all.