By Brenda Cannon Henley
In a recent column, I began the introduction of Sarah, Abraham, and Sarai’s (her name was later changed to Sarah) handmade, Hagar. God had promised Abraham in the Abrahamic Covenant that He would make of his seed a great nation. God said his descendants would be as great as the sand of the sea.

But Sarah was getting old and unable to conceive. She was burdened and grieved by her lack of motherhood. She did something many of us have done or will do. Sarah tried to help God out – Never a good idea. We almost always “mess up.” God knows what He is doing and timing is everything.

We learned that Sarah had an idea and convinced Abraham to sleep with her handmade, Hagar, so that God’s promise would be fulfilled. The younger woman was fertile and conceived and bore Ambraham a son. But, soon there was division between Sarah and Hagar.

This compelling story in Genesis is following Abram’s struggle to understand what it means to live in a relationship with a loving God. In this portion of the story, we see Sarah very afraid. She allows her fear to drive her harsh choices. Hagar flees Sarah and her home and we next see her son and her alone in the wilderness.

In Act II of our story, we see Hagar sitting by a spring in the wilderness. She is alone and vulnerable in a dangerous world. Her family is in Egypt, an impossible distance away. She has nothing and no one.

God finds her by the spring and asks, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

Hagar replies, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”

Then God tells her to go back to your mistress and submit to her, but he promises her that he will, “increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

Then God tells her:

You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael (God Hears) for the Lord has heard of your misery. 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.

Hagar responds by declaring, “You are the God who sees me. I have now seen the One who sees me.”

“God sees me!” Hagar, the handmaid realizes in Genesis 16 that God sees her. She is important. She has value. She is loved. How easily we human beings forget these great truths. He is The God who hears. He is the “El Roi,” the God who sees me.

God assures Hagar that she will be provided for and that her son will be known.

During the Thanksgiving Season this year, I invite you to keep those three little words at the forefront of your mind. If you feel lonely, your heart is hurting, you are sadly missing loved ones, your finances are in disarray, or you are perhaps alone in a strange place, remember Hagar the handmaid. God saw her in a desolate wilderness. He gave her assurance, hope, and a future.

My friend, He can and will do the same for you and me. Happy Thanksgiving. I am so grateful today that I serve a God that sees me.

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at 409 781 8788, or
[email protected]

[BCH: Nov-22-2022]