Heard

 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.
Genesis 21:17 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/gen.21.17.ESV

Spiritually, Isaac was the child of promise; and Ishmael the child of the flesh. Yet this doesn't mean to say that God didn't care for Ishmael and his mother, the servant Hagar. In fact, 'the' angel or messenger of God as opposed to 'an' angel, is often interpreted to be a pre-incarnate visitation of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God hears the cries of the anguished, and He cares. He doesn't want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to faith in Him. Ishmael wasn't going to perish in the wilderness: he was going to become a great nation.

There's something heavenly about a mother's care for her child. Hagar clearly loved Ishmael deeply, and couldn't bear to see him die. Thankfully, God heard their cries.

God isn't just Someone who sees us in terms of where we're at. He also graciously hears us and responds. May we ever live to glorify the One who gave Himself for us!

'Gracious Lord, thank You for hearing and responding to our cries. Please help us acknowledge You in our lives. In Christ's name, amen'

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mercy

  For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them. Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/deu.4.31.ESV Jesus Christ is Lord. That's why they crucified Him, for claiming to be God and King: blasphemy to the Jews and treason to the Romans. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. So the same Jesus of yesterday is the Jesus of today. He was merciful yesterday, and He'll be merciful today and forever. He doesn't just turn around and decide to destroy people He's lavished His mercy upon. If we've received God's mercy, or if we receive it now, or before Christ returns, nothing can separate us from the love of God. If we want God's presence in our lives, and we cry out to Him for it, He's not going to abandon us in the wilderness of our sin. If we claim God's Bible promises for ourselves in faith, we are safe in Him. God promises never t
Read more

Power

 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.Exodus 9:16 ESVhttps://bible.com/bible/59/exo.9.16.ESV  Secular historians point to the lack of extra-biblical evidence of Hebrew slavery in Egypt and ensuing exodus. But here in this verse, God describes how this anonymous Pharoah has been immortalised in the annals of the Hebrews, so that God is proclaimed in all the earth. The mighty men of the world might think they can stand against God and win, but resistance is futile!  The more stubborn Pharoah was, the more the Lord was able to display His power. The more insistent Pharoah was of keeping his slaves, the more unreasonable he appeared. It was a battle of wills, and the will of Yahweh prevailed.  In the end, Pharoah will have been broken by the plagues. In the final plague, his own firstborn son was killed, the next in line to the throne of the world superpower. He might have tried to put a brave face on it, but he
Read more

Prayer

  Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Colossians 4:2 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/col.4.2.ESV Why should we pray? Firstly, because we're commanded to in God's word. Secondly, it teaches us perseverence; it encourages us to become steadfast in it. This is because God often says 'wait' in response to our prayers, which should spur us on to persevere rather than to give up. How can we become steadfast in prayer? No excuses nowadays! There are great apps like PrayerMate which remind us to pray and tell us what to pray for daily. One thing we can often forget to do with prayer is to be watchful in it. There's no use in asking God for stuff if we're not going to watch for His answers! Again, apps like PrayerMate can help us to look back upon past prayers and trace God's answers through it all. Another important thing to remember in prayer is to be thankful. We're not just to present God with shopping lists of request
Read more