September 5 – Ishmael

September 5 – Ishmael
Genesis 16:1-16

We know the story of Sarai and Hagar.  Hagar had done nothing more than accept a position as a maidservant to Sarai.  Then, when Sarai got worried about providing a child to her husband, she begged Abram to impregnate her maidservant. It didn’t take long for jealousy to set in and when Hagar became pregnant, Sarai was awful. She blamed Abram so she whined and complained and tormented him. She blamed Hagar so she mistreated her to the point that Hagar could only think to run away from the entire encampment.

Fortunately, the Lord intervened.  An angel of the Lord met Hagar before she got too far away and assured her that if she remained with Abram and Sarai and was obedient to Sarai, her son would be blessed and, though neither he nor his descendants would ever have an easy life, those descendants would be many.

When Hagar cried out in fear and pain, the Lord was there.  He didn’t promise her it would be easy, in fact, he told her to walk back in and deal with the problems that had upset her so much. But, he did promise that he would always be there and that the future would be greater than the present.

For Hagar, the Lord was the one who saw her (Gen. 16:13) and she was grateful to have been given the opportunity to see him.

Sometimes our circumstances make it seem as if life is nearly impossible, but there is a God who sees us and who is close to us.