“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.”
— Psalm 139:1 – 2
God promised Abram and Sarai that they would have a baby, even in their old age. Sarai could hardly believe this announcement, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She decided that her servant Hagar, who was younger, would have a child for Abram.
Because Hagar was Sarai’s servant, Hagar didn’t have much say in the matter. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Hagar’s feelings were at that point, but it does say that after Hagar became pregnant with Abram’s son, Sarai mistreated her, and Hagar began to hate Sarai. Pregnant and alone, Hagar ran away into the desert.
An angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring. “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from Sarai,” Hagar said.
“Go back and obey her,” the angel of the Lord said. “I’ll increase your offspring. There will be too many to count. You’ll have a son. Name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your suffering.”
Then Hagar said, “You’re the God who sees me. Now I’ve seen the One who sees me.”
Hagar returned to Abram and Sarai’s home and had a son. She named him Ishmael just as the Lord had said.
Fourteen years later, Sarai, whose name had been changed to Sarah, gave birth to Isaac. Now that Sarah had a child of her own, she again wanted Hagar and Ishmael to leave her home.
God told Abram, now known as Abraham, to let Hagar and Ishmael go as part of God’s plan. Early the next morning, Abraham gave Hagar some food, an animal-skin canteen full of water, and then sent them back into the desert. When the water ran out, Hagar left her son under a bush, sat nearby, and cried.
God called to Hagar from heaven. “What’s the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid. God hears the boy crying. Lift the boy and take his hand. I’ll make him into a great nation.”
Hagar and Ishmael were out in the middle of nowhere, and God heard their cries, just as he hears your cries and sees your tears today. When God opened Hagar’s eyes, she saw a well of water. She filled the skin with water and gave Ishmael a drink.
More To Explore: Deuteronomy 7:9
Girl Talk: God always keeps his promises. What are some other promises in the Bible that God has for you?
God Talk: “Dear heavenly Father, thank you for knowing me and loving me. Thank you for being a friend who is always with me. Amen.”
From Real Girls of the Bible by Mona Hodgson