The God Who Sees Me

I'm going to skip a little bit to Genesis 16. This has actually been one of my favorite stories in the book of Genesis. Maybe it's just because of the message I interpreted from it that touched me so much, but I feel like this story is severely under rated. As a single mother, I have drawn so much comfort and strength from this story. I know how hard it is to carry the weight of the mother and the father. I don't believe God ever intended this for us. The Bible says the devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I believe the devil knows the importance of the family, and each person's role in the family, so he does everything he can to tear that apart, trying to leave mothers and children vulnerable without the father, provider and protector. But, we serve a God who steps in when the world steps out. We serve a God who will never leave us or forsake us. So, single moms, draw comfort today, knowing you are not alone.
See, we all know the story of Father Abraham and his many sons, but how many of you know Hagar?
I know there are many other interpretations of Hagar in this story. I have heard it preached that Hagar was representative of the law and Sarah was representative of grace. I've heard it said that Hagar got a little smug. There are many interpretations to all stories of the Bible, and I'm not saying I don't agree with these interpretations, I do. Just look at this with me from a different point of view right now. Come, let's put ourselves in Hagar's shoes.
You know the story, God had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations. But, Abraham's wife Sarah was looking at the circumstances and found that hard to believe. Sarah and Abraham were both very old, and they had no children. Sarah thought, this can't be right, I'm old, my childbearing days are over. So, she told Abraham to take her servant Hagar and conceive, and that's exactly what he did.
Hagar was pregnant, and the Bible says that she began to despise her mistress, Sarah. I can think of many reasons why Hagar would feel this way. First of all, Hagar didn't ask to be put in this situation. She was doing what she was told to do. And, now she has this physical connection with Abraham. She conceived a child with Abraham, it's possible she was feeling jealous of Sarah. Or, maybe she was a little smug that she was able to give Abraham a child and Sarah couldn't. Maybe she was angry with Sarah for putting her in this situation. Whatever the reason, in all honesty, I would have probably felt the same way. And, if you really put yourself in Hagar's shoes, wouldn't you feel that way too?
This upset Sarah, and Sarah went to Abraham about it. Abraham basically told her, this is your servant, you can do whatever you want with her, I don't care. So, Sarah mistreated Hagar, and Hagar ran away.
Have you ever felt like nothing you do is ever good enough? Have you ever felt like no one cares about you? Have you ever felt taken advantage of? I'm sure Hagar was feeling all of those emotions and more. Here she was, thrown into the middle of Sarah and Abraham's problems, she'd conceived a child with Abraham, and he didn't care about her enough to lift a finger to save her.
Hagar had run off into the desert, where she sat weeping, and the angel of the Lord came to her there. Genesis 16:9-10, "Then the angel of the Lord told her, 'Go back to your mistress and submit to her.' The angel added, 'I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.'"
I can imagine that Hagar was flooded with emotion at this point. Here she is, hurt, angry, heart broken, thrown away, yet the Lord still loved her enough to come to her and comfort her. She was so touched by this that she said in Genesis 16:13, "You are the God who sees me", "I have now seen the One who sees me."
How comforting it is to know that no matter where we are in life, no matter what we've done, God still sees us. He still loves us. Like Hagar, we are not just "extras", playing the small part in the background of the story of another person's life. Every one of us are important to God.
Hagar did go back, and she gave birth to a son named Ishmael. And, eventually, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away for good. But, the good news is that God never left her or her son. Genesis 21:20 says, "God was with the boy as he grew up." He did not grow up fatherless, because he had the Heavenly Father, the greatest Father of all with him. Never once did God leave them. Never once did God forsake them.
No matter who you are, no matter where you are, I hope you can find peace and comfort today knowing that we serve a God who sees us. God sees you, He loves you, and He cares about what you're going through. He will never leave you nor forsake you.

In the Beginning...

                A few months ago, I decided that I would start at the beginning of the Bible and read through to the end. I’d done this once before when I was younger, but I skimmed through it so quickly that I really didn’t get much from it. I was reading it, but not really taking time to understand and meditate on it. So, this time I am taking notes as I go along, and re-reading some chapters along the way. I’m almost done with the book of Numbers now, but I thought it would be a great idea to blog about what I’ve read and found “note-worthy”. I just thought, why do this just for me, when someone else may be able to get something out of this too? Also, if anyone is interested in taking this journey with me, and sharing anything you find “note-worthy” along the way, please, please, please join in with me! (P.S. I’m reading from the NIV version of the Bible, you do not have to follow this translation. It’s just easier for me to understand.)

                So, with all that being said, let’s get started! Being the underdog that I am, I have been taking notes on the less common Bible stories or scriptures. We all know the story, “In the beginning, God created the heavens, and the earth, and said, ‘Let there be light’, he rested on the seventh day,” etc., so forth, and so on. But, the first thing that really caught my attention was Genesis 2:18, which says: “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

                To me, this verse is a great scripture of hope for all who are single out there, maybe searching or praying for a mate. This verse, to me, shows that God cares about our lives, he cares about our relationships, and he doesn’t want us to be lonely. I confess, I have actually proclaimed this verse over my own life, during a little “relational-crisis”, and the outcome was great! So, if you’re in that situation, where you are searching for a mate, praying for reconciliation in a relationship, or whatever your case may be, I encourage you to pray this over your own life. Your prayer may go something like this: “Dear Heavenly Father, I know you care about me, and my life, and my relationships. Your word says, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ Lord, you know it is not good for me to be alone. So, Father, I am standing on your word today, believing that you will send the helper you created for me into my life.” 

              You don’t have to follow that verbatim, I’m merely suggesting a guideline that helped me during a tough and lonely time in my own life. I believe a great way to get God's attention is to repeat what God's word says about a particular situation, and proclaim it over our lives. It's a great testament of faith, even Moses did this...but, we'll get to that passage later!

                To finish up this session, I decided to make an outline of the curse that was brought upon man, woman, and snake in the Garden of Eden, when they ate the forbidden fruit. I found this “note-worthy”, because, frankly, there’s been a lot of blame placed over the years on Eve for menstrual periods, menstrual cramps, and bloating. If you’ve never heard a woman groan that it’s all Eve’s fault during her monthly visitation, I can assure you, I have! But, all I see in this passage is that woman will have painful childbirth, is that linked to all our other lady problems? It’s debatable, I suppose.  

*God cursed the snake:

·         above all livestock and wild animals

·         to crawl on his belly and eat dust all the days of his life

·         God put enmity between the snake and the woman, and between the snake’s offspring and hers; “he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” (< So, this is why I hate snakes so much!)

* God cursed the woman:

·         God said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe.”

·         “Your desire will be for your husband, (< Wow, that’s spot on with the way some  of us ladies act. Think about it, how many times have you said, “I just want you to spend time with me”)

·         and he will rule over you.” (< Suppose this is where the whole “Women submit to your husbands” thing came in?)

* God cursed the man:

·         “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it.”

·         “It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you  were  taken.” (< So, that explains why it always seems like a paycheck is spent before you get it, and you have to work so hard for anything you want out of life!)

So, that concludes today’s Bible study, maybe not the eye-opening revelation you were hoping for…but, stay tuned! It gets better! Some of the things I’ve read have really touched me, and ministered to me, and I don’t want you to miss out! I challenge you to read along, take this Bible reading challenge with me, and share your notes or comments also! Thanks for reading, be blessed today.