Being Passed By Or By-Passed (Part 2)

“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.’” Genesis 16:13

In Genesis 16, Hagar was the servant of Abram (later named Abraham) and his wife. Sarai (later renamed Sarah) was having trouble conceiving, and instead of trusting in the Lord, she asked Abram to sleep with Hagar. Hagar got pregnant but then became entitled and wouldn’t be under Sarai’s authority anymore, so Sarai mistreated her until she fled into the desert. 

To those in her community, Hagar was just a servant with a bad attitude who deserved what she got. She was written off and forgotten about. Even Abram didn’t seem to care. But God did not by-pass her. Genesis 16:7 says, "The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring beside the road to Shur. And he said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?’” She had a conversation with the angel and then took his advice and returned to the safety of her master’s house. Then she gave this special 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.’” 

You may feel unseen and unimportant. You may think that there is no one in the world who cares about you. But this story was placed in God’s Word just to let you know that He loves each and every person, whether they are a great, influential leader or a lowly, rebellious servant. He loves each of His children with the same love and tenderness and He died for every special soul that would exist on earth. The angel “found” Hagar. God sent him to look for her. God sent him to make sure that she and the baby would be taken care of. 

Later on, in Genesis 21, Hagar and her son were cast out, and she found herself terrified and alone in the desert again. She thought that she and her son would die in that desert, but God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water and gave the boy a drink. And the scriptures tell us that God was with the boy as he grew up. God never left them for one moment. He watched over them their entire lives. Each and every person is precious to Him.

Share