“So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.’ “ – Genesis 16:13 ESV
The story of Hagar reminds me of my own family heritage. When I researched my family history, I discovered that my mother’s family grew up on a plantation picking cotton, and my father’s family grew up on a farm, picking peanuts and delivering the peanuts by horse-driven wagon to the local planter’s factory. My family was treated cruelly by their master in times of slavery.
You know the story. You’ve heard it preached many times, and some of you have read it. Hagar was an Egyptian slave woman of Sarai (Gen 16:1). The Egyptians were descendants of Ham, who was the progenitor of the African (Black) peoples. Sarai had not borne any children to Abram, her husband, so she gave her slave girl, Hagar, to Abram to wife. Scripture tells us that when Sarai knew that Hagar was pregnant, she despised her, and dismissed her. But the angel of the Lord found her near a spring of water in the desert and commanded her to go back to Sarai.
He told her that she was pregnant with a son, and that his name would be Ishmael because the Lord had heard how badly she had been mistreated. The angel of the Lord told Hagar that her son would be wild and free like a donkey; that he would be against everyone, and everyone would be against him. He told her that her son would move from place to place and camp near his brothers. The Lord talked to Hagar, and she began to use a new name for God. She said to Him, “You are God Who Sees Me”. She said this because she thought, “I see that even in this place God sees me and cares for me!”
When I reflect on the humble beginnings of my family, I can imagine there were many times that they prayed for deliverance and peace. They probably said the same thing that Hagar had said, “I see that even in this place God sees me and cares for me.”
I look around now an I see the beautiful family that God has given me and the beautiful home, and the great career, and I say, “God sees me and cares for me.” Even while riding the back of the bus, drinking from “colored” water fountains, and being refused their civil rights, it was the all-seeing, all-knowing, everywhere, on-time God that sustained my family, like He did Hagar.
So, whenever you feel in despair, or feel like a failure, or when you feel lonely, and like no one cares, I encourage you, do like I do…reflect on the Biblical story of Hagar and remember that in every situation, God sees…and He cares…for you!
Submitted by Trustee Stanley Ridley