A Work in Progress….

Genesis 16:13 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.” 

Commentary says about these verses: “Hagar thought her circumstances needed transformation; in fact, she needed transformation.” That seems to describe Sarai in this chapter as well–Sarai wanted a child, Hagar wanted…a position or some power instead of powerlessness, perhaps. But both seem to have in mind what should change in their circumstances to make their lives better.

Genesis 16:14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

Haven’t we all been there, though? I know I have. In my mind, I know exactly what should transpire, what the situation should be, what I should have or not have, do or not do, in order for everything to be just exactly right in my world. But life never quite works that way, and that’s the point here, I think. We don’t need circumstances to be exactly a certain way, we need Jesus as our center so that we can face whatever circumstances come our way.

Genesis 16:15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. 

Precious Savior, It sounds almost trite to say we need You first so that we can handle everything else, but it is anything but. We need You, first and foremost in our lives, so that we can handle all the other things. Thank You for that reminder. Thank You for that truth. Thank You for Your love, Your goodness, Your presence. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 16:16 Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 16:9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 

Hagar is Egyptian. According to a brief Google search, she was Islamic, so the fact that the angel of the Lord appears to her in her distress and tells her that the Lord has heard her misery and has a plan for her and her descendants is interesting to me.

Genesis 16:10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

I wonder what Hagar thought of all of this. Was she a devout Muslim? She goes back to Sarai and Abram. Was that because she believed the angel of the Lord or because she had no other options? What can we learn from Hagar in these verses?

Genesis 16:11 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 misery. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for the ability to ponder Your word, for seeing things and wondering about things that I have not before. Help me to learn and to draw closer to You, always. Amen.

Genesis 16:12 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.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 16:1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 

Today’s verses bring to mind the saying, “Either man says to God, ‘Thy will be done,” or God will say to man, ‘Thy will be done.” Either we are going to follow what we think God is calling us to do or we are going to do what we want, ignoring God’s call and inserting our own will. Commentary says, “Whatever a man or woman attempts to do without God will be a miserable failure – or an even more miserable success.”

Genesis 16:2 so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. 

However, my heart aches for Sarai in this passage. She hasn’t had multiple reassurances from God, she longs for a child, and she is facing, yet again, an empty womb and empty arms. Many of us know that anguish. I cannot stand in judgment of her actions. Yet God calls us to trust Him always, to trust His plan for us, to trust His timing for us. Jesus, Help us.

Genesis 16:3 So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. 

Precious Savior, Sometimes it is so easy to trust that You have a plan for us, to give us hope and a future. Sometimes, though, when Your plan and ours don’t line up, it is so incredibly difficult to trust Your timing, Your path. Help us, always, to say to You, “Thy will be done,” to walk in faith, to trust You. Help us understand what that means. Help us to follow through in faithfulness. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 16:4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 15:5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”

I grew up in a church where you did not question God or the Bible. I don’t remember anyone saying that, but I absolutely remember wrestling with questions and doubts and feeling that I could not utter them aloud. I see a similar struggle with Abram–trust, doubt, trust, doubt. That seems an entirely human struggle.

Genesis 15:6 Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

Commentary talks about the difference between believing IN God (that He exists) and believing God (that He keeps His promises). Commentary also reminds us that it will be another 15 years before Abram sees these children that God has promised. I struggle with how to remain faithful when it feels like God’s promises take so long to come to fruition.

Genesis 15:7 He also said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”

Precious Savior, I am human, fleshly, weak. I struggle, question, and doubt. Thank You for giving me grace in my struggles. Help me to always believe Your promises, even if they don’t come in my timeline. Give me both faith and grace like You gave to Abram. Amen.

Genesis 15:8 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, how can I know that I will gain possession of it?”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 15:1 After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

Yesterday I mentioned that Abram now trusts God implicitly. Today seems to tell a different story. Again, Abram brings up the promise of children from God and the fact that he has no heirs. Commentary says, “…we can discern the difference between a doubt that denies God’s promise and a doubt that desires God’s promise.” I struggle with what to make of that.

Genesis 15:2 But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?”

God knows the desires of our hearts.  He has promised to give us hope and a future (Jer 29:11). He has reminded us that His ways are beyond anything that we can imagine (Is 55:8). He is doing something new, making a way in our wilderness, even if we cannot yet perceive it (Is 43:19). He is our very great reward (Gen 15:1), and He asks us to trust Him. Always.

Genesis 15:3 And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.”

Precious Savior, Help us to desire You above all things–even those we hold dearest in our hearts. Help us to trust Your promises, even if they seem so very different from what we had hoped or imagined for our lives. Help us to be faithful like Abram even when we doubt. Amen.

Genesis 15:4 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” 

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 14:21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

It appears that Abram has grown in love and wisdom, that he now trusts God implicitly, to the point that he does not accept plunder he earned from the battle because he wants to give all glory to God for his wealth. That’s a far cry from moving to Egypt to avoid starvation and claiming your wife is your sister so that you aren’t killed so she can be wed outright.

Genesis 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “With raised hand I have sworn an oath to the Lord, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, 

I am truly thankful for a God who loves us so, who extends us grace and compassion, who allows us to learn and grow and change, who doesn’t say, “Oh, I’m sorry. You messed up once. I’m done with you.” I think we can all learn a lot about how to treat each other from this whole example between God and Abram.

Genesis 14:23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 

Precious Savior, Thank You for grace, for compassion, for second chances. Thank You that You don’t send us away from You when we make mistakes. Help us to be more compassionate towards each other as we live and love and grow in this life. Amen.

Genesis 14:24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshkol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

Have a blessed day.