Bible in a Year, Day 15: The God Who Sees the Brokenhearted

Today's reading

Today we read Genesis 21, where Isaac is born and weaned, and Hagar and Ishmael are sent away. Pastor Jack Graham draws our attention to the moment God answers a mother and her son in the wilderness.

God heard the voice of the boy. The angel of God called to Hagar out of the sky, and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. For God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.

(Genesis 21:17, WEB)

Reflection

Abraham threw a great celebration for Isaac, and Sarah saw Ishmael mocking her son. Jealousy flared, and she demanded that Hagar and her son be sent away. Pastor Jack points out that Abraham was torn, since Ishmael was his firstborn. God told him to do what Sarah said, that the covenant line would come through Isaac, and that he would also make Ishmael a great nation.

So Hagar and Ishmael left with nothing but bread and water, and they wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba. This was the second time Hagar had been sent into exile. Years before, she ran from Sarah's harshness. Now she was driven out. When the water ran out, she put the boy under a bush and walked away. As Pastor Jack tells it, "She couldn't bear to watch her son die."

Then God heard the boy crying. The angel of God called from heaven and asked what was wrong, told Hagar not to be afraid, and promised to make Ishmael into a great nation. God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. In Pastor Jack's words, "God showed up right on time because he's the God who sees."

Pastor Jack then turns to Jesus at a well, speaking with an outcast woman who came at noon, thirsty and longing for something more.

Jesus answered her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never thirst again; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

(John 4:13-14, WEB)

God opened Hagar's eyes to water that saved two lives. Jesus offers a water that never runs dry. As Pastor Jack puts it, "Hagar was dying of thirst, and God showed her life." He reminds us that you may be dying of a spiritual thirst, and that God has given you Jesus.

If you feel like life is going nowhere, or you are wandering in your own wilderness, Pastor Jack has a word for you: "God sees you. He knows you. He hears your cry."

Take it with you

• Where do you feel dried up right now? Name it plainly to God, who hears.
• What have you been trying to drink from that never satisfies?
• Whom might you notice and encourage this week, someone who seems to be wandering alone?

Prayer

Lord, you see us when we feel sent away and forgotten. You hear the cries we can barely say out loud. Open our eyes to the help you have already placed near us. We confess our thirst, and we come to Jesus, the living water. Satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts, and teach us to trust that you show up right on time. Amen.