Our God hears. “And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is” – Genesis 21:17
Abraham and Sarah had been rather unfair to Hagar. First of all, she didn’t ask to be married to Abraham, but Sarah herself had offered Hagar to Abraham and asked him to take her as his wife. But when Hagar became pregnant, she began to treat Sarah with contempt and Sarah would not have it. The Bible records that Sarah treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away (Gen. 16:6).
By the time God fulfilled His promise to Abraham and Sarah, they had already hurt Hagar with their plan. And now that they had their own child, Hagar was no longer needed. So, Sarah asked Abraham to send her away. Although he wasn’t comfortable with this arrangement, he did it because God instructed him to do what Sarah had said (Gen. 21:10-11).
What? Was God in on this plan to ruin Hagar’s life? Never! Through it all, God never abandoned Hagar. In fact, He was with her right from the very beginning. Look at chapter 16, when Hagar had her first disagreement with Sarah, she cried to God and God heard her. Hear what He said to her in vs 11: And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord, has heard your cry of distress. – Genesis 16:11 NLT
What do you do when life treats you harshly? When it seems like everyone and everything is working against you? What do you do when you’re afraid? It’s not easy to admit fear in Christian circles, but one thing that should give you comfort, no matter what you face is this truth: GOD HEARS YOU. The world may seem deaf to your cries, but you have a heavenly father whose ears are always open to listen. Talk to him today, He’s listening.
Prayer:
Thank you, Father, because I know that you always hear me when I call. Even if the whole world turns a deaf ear, I am confident that you will never abandon me. Click this link to send us your prayer request.
FEAR NOT 365
Many times in the midst of all the chaos in our lives we forget one simple truth, FEAR NOT is not a piece of advice. It’s a command, an instruction from the Almighty God, the creator of the entire universe, the owner of the heavens and all the earth. And all we have to do is trust and obey Him.
