Genesis 16:6 But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. 7 And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. 8 And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 9 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. 10 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. 11 And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. 12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. 13 And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? 14 Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered.
When I was first called to preach, Nita and I both worked at Kenrose. The employees were 99% women. At that time I was badly nearsighted. I got along with everyone but one day I noticed some of the women weren’t so friendly to me. Nita told me it was my eyesight. I took the cutwork down the lines. The women close by all waved and I’d wave back. Some on down the line were waving, but because I didn’t see them I didn’t wave back. They thought I was ignoring them, but I simply didn’t see them because of my eyes. I wasn’t seeing them seeing me. God feels the same toward us at all times. He’s a perfect Father. We should be ashamed knowing God sees us. How much seeing him do we do? How much different things would be if we did see God seeing us. If Lot had listened to Abraham and taken an honest look at God, he would not have pitched his tent toward Sodom. God was looking at him, but he was not seeing God.
Hagar was an Egyptian servant of Abraham and Sara. She was put into a bad situation. God had promised Abraham and Sara a son, but after a while and it hadn’t happened. Sara came up with a plan to bring about God’s promise. God doesn’t need our help. When we get in the way, it can cause a mess. It did in this situation, one that we still see today. Sara decided that she could have her child through Hagar. Abraham could go into her and if she got pregnant, Hagar’s child would be hers. Abraham listened to her, bought it hook, line, and sinker. It happened and immediately the two women fell out with one another. It made a mess, but what did they think would happen! Hagar looked down on Sara and Sara on Hagar. Abraham had his hands full. Sara went to Abraham complaining and he told her to do whatever she wanted. Sara pretty much ran Hagar off even though she carried a child.
Out in the desert you might think Hagar was out of sight of everyone, but God went with her in her banishment by Sara. He told her the child’s name would be Ishmael which means God hears. Aren’t you glad he does! I’m glad God pays attention to me. But I’m more thankful that he is not only the God who hears our cry. God saw Hagar in the wilderness. She was by a fountain of water, probably a well. It’s a lesson for all of us. He looked for her. We can get in a wilderness in life. We all struggle from time to time. We wonder how in the world we’ll get out of this wilderness. Life is life but God sees us. AND we don’t need an appointment! Sometimes when we’re sick it might take a week to get into see the doctor, but not with God. He’s in the ongoing process of seeing us every moment.
Hagar’s need was great. Without food and water, she was put by this well. He saw her there, and in his mercy he made her a promise. He knew what kind of child Ishmael would be. The Arabians were poor until oil was discovered, and now they’re among the richest people in the world. God’s promise was I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. He did. When Abraham and Sara’s son Isaac was born, the older Ishmael made fun of him and Hagar and the boy were run off again. God had made a promise to both of the sons and today we see the effects of the mistake Abraham and Sara made. But we also see that wherever and whenever, God sees us. He is seeing us. He has the answer. We need to recognize him and see God seeing us just as he did Hagar. She received a solution with a promise. The focus would be on Isaac as the son of the promise to Abraham and Sara, but God would be with her and see her through; he would take care of her too. He would take care of Isaac and Ishmael. He will take care of us too.
Hagar did go back and Sara received her. God took care of it. See him seeing us. Be honest with him. We can hide nothing from him anyway. He always sees and always loves. As he has his eyes on us, we should keep our eyes on him. Let’s see God as he sees us. He sees us, not as we think we are. He sees us, not as others see us. What he sees is what we really are. He sees us to give us the solution and a promise. We need this every moment. Are we seeing the Lord who is seeing us?
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 