This past Sunday I was able to preach on Genesis 16 (video here), which is a beautiful passage. It gives a picture of God’s grace and reminds us to place our identity in Him.
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 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.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” 11 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 cry of affliction.
12 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.”
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 verses 7-13, our relational and personal God speaks to Hagar, a slave of the lowest standing in her culture. And it’s Hagar’s identity that God speaks to in verse 8 when he asks her, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” These are not only great questions but also who is being addressed, for Hagar is a slave who was forced into a marriage and motherhood--neither of which she wanted. Yet despite the way her culture perceived her, Hagar was precious to her image maker.
Now when God asks Hagar, “Where have you come from?”, it’s important to note that the all-knowing and all-powerful creator God has not forgotten His geography. The Alpha and the Omega is not confused about where Egypt is on a map. He is asking Hagar about her pain and her struggle. We know this because verse 11 says God has heard Hagar’s cry of affliction. God has seen it all--every blow Sarai inflicted, every blind eye Abram turned, every injustice Hagar suffered.
And it gets even better: He sees you, too.
Hagar got that. Do you?
What I continue to learn the hard way is that I can’t outsmart or outwit God--he sees all of me, and I have to get out of the way and let Him do work in me.
No matter what you are facing, I offer you the same thing God told Hagar, which was go back and submit to her master.
What pain are you keeping to yourself? What in your heart needs to be softened? Whose forgiveness do you need to seek?
God, our almighty Servant-Master, sees you and hears you. He hears your cries of affliction.
Go back to Him.