Hey ladies,
I am sorry I haven’t written in a while, I just have a lot going on right now. But God had me pondering this piece for a couple months now and I am glad I finally sat down to write it and encourage you.
Growing up in church, the preacher or older sisters and brothers in Christ would always tell me that every question that you want answered can be found in the Bible. When I continuously heard this I always wondered if it were really true, all the answers to my questions could be found in this one book, The Bible. We tend to have problems and think that God doesn’t understand, but He does. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.” So Christ has been tempted in all ways and so He can relate to anything we may be going through and the reading the story of Hagar I found that every answer can be found in the Bible….
In the last piece I talked about Sarah and now I want to look at Hagar’s side of it all. The story can be found in Genesis 16 and Genesis 21:8-21. Hagar’s name means fugitive or immigrant. She was from the land of Egypt. It is unsure of where Hagar was picked up by Abraham and Sarah but many religious scholars think that Hagar was a part of the booty that Abraham received from Pharaoh in Egypt when he deceived him of Sarah being his sister. Hagar was obviously a good worker to Sarah and she probably had confidence and some affection for her because out of all the slaves she was chosen to be not only her maidservant but also a surrogate mother for her.
I am sorry I haven’t written in a while, I just have a lot going on right now. But God had me pondering this piece for a couple months now and I am glad I finally sat down to write it and encourage you.
Growing up in church, the preacher or older sisters and brothers in Christ would always tell me that every question that you want answered can be found in the Bible. When I continuously heard this I always wondered if it were really true, all the answers to my questions could be found in this one book, The Bible. We tend to have problems and think that God doesn’t understand, but He does. Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.” So Christ has been tempted in all ways and so He can relate to anything we may be going through and the reading the story of Hagar I found that every answer can be found in the Bible….
In the last piece I talked about Sarah and now I want to look at Hagar’s side of it all. The story can be found in Genesis 16 and Genesis 21:8-21. Hagar’s name means fugitive or immigrant. She was from the land of Egypt. It is unsure of where Hagar was picked up by Abraham and Sarah but many religious scholars think that Hagar was a part of the booty that Abraham received from Pharaoh in Egypt when he deceived him of Sarah being his sister. Hagar was obviously a good worker to Sarah and she probably had confidence and some affection for her because out of all the slaves she was chosen to be not only her maidservant but also a surrogate mother for her.
So Hagar became Abraham’s wife and conceived. Sarah became jealous of Hagar and dealt harshly with her that she fled to the wilderness. She was pregnant, alone and had no one, no money or any food. But she heard the voice of God telling her to go back and submit to the one woman who treated her so badly, but God assured her that she would have a son named Ishmael and that He had heard her misery. Hagar didn’t complain or argue, she turned and went back……
Sixteen years later…..Hagar is found in the same situation again, by force and not by choice with her son Ishmael banished by Sarah into the wilderness. She was so thirsty and could not stand to look at her son’s agony, so she put him under a bush and began to weep. Her cries were interrupted by an angel of God reassuring her that Ishmael was going to be a great nation and he showed her a well of water nearby that saved not only her but her son’s life. The last that is seen of Hagar is that she is living in the Desert of Paran in the Sinai Peninsula, busy securing a wife and therefore a future for Ishmael. God had made a way in the wilderness for a single woman and her son, without friends, family or resources to help her. He had seen, He had heard, and He had indeed been faithful.
So it brings me to the title that I chose for this piece, “Are You A Modern Day Hagar?” Are you a thin young woman huddled in the front seat of her car, covering your ears to block out the sound of your little son as he whimpers with cold in the backseat? Your husband abandoned you both two months before and left you without resources, and the car being your only home. This modern day Hagar is no further from God’s promises than was Hagar herself as she poured out her sorrow in the desert. God sees her heartache, just as he saw Hagar’s. Though you may not be as desperate as Hagar or her modern counterpart, you may have experienced times in your life that made you fear for the future. Whether you are living in a wilderness of poverty or loneliness or sorrow, God promises love and protection to you, just like they were available to Hagar. In addition, if you are going through a Hagar experience (an experience of lack), follow through and be just like Hagar and continue to trust in God and listen to the voice of God as you go through your storm! God will make a way out of no way in whatever situation that you are going through!
God bless you,
Raven
Be blessed by, "Through The Storm" by Yolanda Adams
Sixteen years later…..Hagar is found in the same situation again, by force and not by choice with her son Ishmael banished by Sarah into the wilderness. She was so thirsty and could not stand to look at her son’s agony, so she put him under a bush and began to weep. Her cries were interrupted by an angel of God reassuring her that Ishmael was going to be a great nation and he showed her a well of water nearby that saved not only her but her son’s life. The last that is seen of Hagar is that she is living in the Desert of Paran in the Sinai Peninsula, busy securing a wife and therefore a future for Ishmael. God had made a way in the wilderness for a single woman and her son, without friends, family or resources to help her. He had seen, He had heard, and He had indeed been faithful.
So it brings me to the title that I chose for this piece, “Are You A Modern Day Hagar?” Are you a thin young woman huddled in the front seat of her car, covering your ears to block out the sound of your little son as he whimpers with cold in the backseat? Your husband abandoned you both two months before and left you without resources, and the car being your only home. This modern day Hagar is no further from God’s promises than was Hagar herself as she poured out her sorrow in the desert. God sees her heartache, just as he saw Hagar’s. Though you may not be as desperate as Hagar or her modern counterpart, you may have experienced times in your life that made you fear for the future. Whether you are living in a wilderness of poverty or loneliness or sorrow, God promises love and protection to you, just like they were available to Hagar. In addition, if you are going through a Hagar experience (an experience of lack), follow through and be just like Hagar and continue to trust in God and listen to the voice of God as you go through your storm! God will make a way out of no way in whatever situation that you are going through!
God bless you,
Raven
Be blessed by, "Through The Storm" by Yolanda Adams
Scripture Verses
- Genesis 16
- Genesis 21: 8-21
- Hebrews 4:15
never seen this site until today that I tried to find the meaning of my name'' HAGAR '' God richly bless you
ReplyDeleteAmen!
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