[KD Holmberg] The God Who Sees

Last month I wrote about Hagar, the headstrong handmaid of Sarai, in The Present Moment. She conceived a child with Abram and quickly despised her mistress (Genesis 16:4b NKJV). Sarai retaliated by attacking Hagar with unrelenting cruelty.

Hagar ran away when life became difficult and sought refuge on a desert road of tawny sand and stone. The chances were pretty high that someone would have stumbled over Hagar’s dry bones if God had not intervened.

Then Hagar had a present moment in the presence of the Lord. But instead of sending her off to live happily ever after, he sent her back into the miserable existence she sought to escape.

The Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand.” Genesis 16:9 (NKJV)

Why did God do that?

Because, even though he didn’t change her circumstances, God changed Hagar.@kdeniseholmberg Share on X

I noticed four things that happened when Hagar met the Angel of the Lord:

1. She told him the truth. When he asked where she had come from and where she was going, she told him, “I am fleeing from my mistress, Sarai.”
2. He gave her hope. He actually gave her the same promises he gave Abram, that he would multiply her descendants exceedingly. He told her she would have a son, and to name him Ishmael. He would be like the wild desert onager, meaning he would know freedom.
3. She trusted him. She knew she was speaking to the Lord of the heavens. She even, for the first time in the Bible, gave him a name, El Roi, the God who sees. (Genesis 16:13 NKJV)
4. She obeyed him. She returned to the safety of the tribe of Abram and delivered a son. Abram named him Ishmael because he believed Hagar’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord. (Genesis 16:15).

Can you relate to Hagar?

Right now we are in the midst of the collective, challenging Covid-19 epidemic. Every human being on earth is at war with an invisible enemy. Meanwhile, we still contend with the normal distresses of the mundane, immediate needs of each day. Some are even facing the struggle between life and death. And everything in between.

We may not be able to change our circumstances. Often things are not what we want them to be, and the change we want is not the answer we get. God never promised we would not face struggles and suffering. But he gives us himself to go through our earthly trials. In Christ we can change how we respond to whatever we face each day. What a privilege that is.

May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.