May 31, 2024
The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, where have you come from and where are you going?
... for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction.
So, she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-Roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me.
- (Gen 16:7, 11a, 13)
Performing a “Lessons Learned” is a universal concept or practice in various fields. It is the act of looking back and identifying insights from the past to inform future activities. Today we will be performing a lesson learned from the story of Hagar in Genesis 16.
Hagar, was a runaway slave girl, who was being mistreated by her Mistress (Sarai, Abram’ s wife), When the angel of The Lord appeared to her, he had two key questions to ask her, “Where have you come from?” i.e. her past or present and “Where are you going to?” i.e. her future.
These two questions may seem insignificant, but they were conversation starters in getting to the root cause. What if instead of running away from her problems with Sarai, Hagar turned to God in prayer (James 1:5) and asked God to intervene in her situation earlier?
God is not ignorant of your situation, or the delays you may be experiencing. Don't let the enemy use anything from your present or past to stop you from experiencing a future filled with God’s blessings. If you cry out to God saying “God, do you see me? God, do you hear me?”, He will answer “YES! I know you; I see you and I hear you; you are not alone”! He promises to never leave or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5b, Deuteronomy 31:6). You simply cannot outrun God! Matthew 28:20 - God’s promise to the disciples was “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”. That promise applies to you too, and you can cling to it, when you face challenges.
God is not ignorant of your situation, or the delays you may be experiencing. Don't let the enemy use anything from your present or past to stop you from experiencing a future filled with God’s blessings.
As a slave girl, Hagar probably may have been referred to as “slave girl”, “my slave”, or even “Sarai’s servant”. Yet when the Angel of The Lord appeared to her, he called her by her name – Hagar (Gen 16:7). God knows your name, you are not just one of many and He has called you His, and knows us by name, and He goes even further in Isaiah 49:16 to remind us that our names are engraved on the palms of His hands. Matthew 10:30 also says that even the hairs of our head are known to Him.
In summary here are three lessons learned from Hagar’s experience. When you don’t know what to do, God knows (El Deah). God sees you (El Roi) and He covers you. He hears the prayers of your heart (El Shama) and has heard your cry. When God enters your story, or situation it never ends in despair. Press into God in prayer and encounter Him in a different way like Hagar.
Song of Worship
El Roi, El Shama
The God That Sees Me
The God That Hears Me
El Roi, El Shama
You Are God, You Never Miss A Thing
Song: El-Roi by Dr. Tim Godfrey
Prayer - We thank You that You are the God who knows us, who sees us and hears us. Help us to walk in that knowledge always and to remember that You have promised to never leave us or forsake us. Thank you, Lord, in Jesus' name. So it is and it shall be in Jesus' mighty name we pray. Amen
Bible in 1 year: 2 Chronicles 13-14