March 28, 2024

He Found Her

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There is a story in the Bible about a mother that no one loved. Is there a name that comes to mind?  My first guess was Rebekkah, the mother that deceived her husband and stole the birthright from her firstborn. But it is not. Do you remember Hagar? She was the Egyptian handmaid to Sarah, the wife of Abraham.

Sarah was unable to have children, so Sarah suggested that Abraham have relations with Hagar so he could have a son. She thought she would be fine with it. She wasn’t at all. See, she wanted an heir for Abraham so badly and she was not willing to wait on the Lord, and the plan turned on her. She became really jealous. She put her will before God’s.

So Abram had sexual relations with Hagar and she became pregnant.
But when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt.
Then Sarai said to Abram, “This is all your fault!
I put my servant in your arms, but now that she’s pregnant she treats me with contempt.
The Lord will show who’s wrong—you or me!”
Abram replied, “Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit,”
Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away.
Genesis 16:4-6 NLT

So, you can see that Hagar is the least-loved mother  in the Bible.  She was young, she was pregnant, and she was all alone.  Instead of help, she received harshness and Abram, the father, turned his back on her also. She had no one—no family or friends.  But she had God.

The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness,
along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant,
where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“Im running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied. The angel of the Lord said to her,
“Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.”
Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son.
You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’),
for the Lord has heard your cry of distress.
Genesis 16: 7-11

What do you think of Hagar? When the world was ready to blame her, the Lord redeemed her. Hagar was lost and the Lord found her. She was alone in her wilderness, and really alone but God came to her rescue.

For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.
Luke 19:10

The Lord found her… the Lord favored her. He promised her more descendants than she could count and told her that she was already pregnant!  Ishmael is full of God’s favor yet the world thinks differently. Did she deserve it? No, but Jesus says in Matthew 11:28,”Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.”

The Lord became her friend. “Therefor, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said,”You are the God who sees me” (Genesis 16:13). Hagar gave her new friend a new name that day, “El Roi,” which means ‘the God who looks, inspects, considers’.  She considered Him the God who saw her needs and decided to help her. God never left her alone.

Is this you today? Do you feel alone or abandoned? If the world has cast you out or maybe you have retreated to your own desert, the Lord sees you. He knows where you are and He will meet you right there! He loves you and He is your friend. He sees you! Hold on to His love today and cry out to Him. There is so much joy waiting for you and blessings beyond your wildest dreams. And if you don’t know Him or you don’t know how to reach Him, then pray this with me:

*   ~   ♥   ~   ✞   ~  ♥   ~   * 

Dear God, I am a sinner. I know I need Your forgiveness and mercy. I want a new life, and I want to walk with You. Today I ask You into my heart, to guide me and direct me. Thank You. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen!

{{ If you prayed this prayer today, please let us know in the comment section.  We  would love to rejoice with you in this journey and be praying for you! }}

Esther – Chapter 9:1-3

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Please join us for our next Online Bible Study!

“16-Day Love Challenge:

Matching our Words and Actions with

1 Corinthians 13:4-8″

by Cherie Zack and Rebecca LeCompte.

This study begins November 4th.

Be sure to go to our Registration page for more details, and to sign up today!!

The Registration page can be found by clicking on this LINK.

We hope you will join us!!

One of the most outstanding aspects of our study of Esther: The Beauty of Courageous Submission, in my opinion, has been the evidence of the influence of the Holy Spirit.  Oh, I had my preconceived thoughts of what we would uncover through our study.  HA!  I am so thrilled to admit how very wrong I was!

Based on certain information that I already held in my head (a brief overview of Mrs. Schacht’s book and a fair knowledge of the Book of Esther), I was looking forward to ‘sharpening my skills’ at submitting to my husband and in the other areas in which the Scriptures tell us of God’s will regarding submission: to elders (1 Peter 5:5), to governing authority (Romans 13:1-7), governors/political leaders (1 Peter 2:13-15), masters/bosses (Ephesians 6:5-8), AND to one another (Ephesians 5:21)!

As we began our study back in early September, it seemed like ‘submission’ would be the overall topic at hand.  And throughout Week 1, that was true. However, it seems to me that only that very first week was this the case!  From Week 2 through now, overwhelmingly the primary subject of discussion has been God and His working through the Holy Spirit.  (Wouldn’t you agree?)

Now while nowhere in the Scriptures are we commanded to ‘submit’ to the Holy Spirit, it is clearly evident through many, many other Scriptures that, YES, we are to submit.  In our study, we have looked at the definition of submission a few times.  Here again, from Webster’s 1828 Dictionary, we see that to ‘submit’ is to ‘yield or surrender.’

SUBMIT

To yield, resign or surrender to the power, will or authority of another…

Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hand.  Genesis 16.
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands.  Ephesians 5.
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man.  1 Peter 2.

And this IS a large part of our relationship with the Holy Spirit—we are to yield or surrender our will, our thinking, our understanding, our <limited> wisdom, our perception, and our own desire to the guidance, leading, and influence of the Holy Spirit.

Here are a few reminders of  insights that my sister-bloggers have shared with us about the influence of the Holy Spirit:

  • “In this place of communion, have you sensed the Holy Spirit’s influence on your life? He’s always at battle for you against the enemy who has an evil plan for your life.” (Kim Spring)
  • “Holy Spirit, thank You for being our ultimate Helper! Help us today to see our beauty not as the world sees it, in the outward woman, but as our Father sees it. Help us in our “beauty regimen” to make ourselves pure, holy and beautiful for our Lord Jesus. Forgive us when we are resistant to Your leading.” (Robin Claddell)
  • “Mordecai symbolizes the Holy Spirit and, like Esther asked questions of Mordecai, we can ask a question of the Holy Spirit. We need not send someone to ask for us—we can go directly to our Helper ourselves.” (Tonya Ellison)
  • “You are looking for our obedience and courageous submission so that we can come into Your Presence, as Esther came into her king’s presence…You have promised us that Your Holy Spirit will be close to us to guide and comfort us.  Please Holy Spirit, help us daily to “walk our talk” so others will see You even when we don’t speak Your Name.” (Clella Fox)

Finally, Mrs. Schacht asks an important and probing question in our reading today:

Do a little soul-searching to find the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in your life.  Does it convict you?  Does it comfort you?  Does it guide you?  Perhaps you can think of some specific ways He’s at work…?

Have you taken the time to consider this?  There is no doubt that God is desiring to influence you through the Holy Spirit!  When Jesus was preparing the disciples for His leaving them, He told them that He would send the Paraclete (aka the Comforter, the Helper) who would teach them, lead them, guide them, and remind them of His words.  I would say that is ‘influence,’ wouldn’t you?  The Holy Spirit does them same for us, in our day and time.

We must ask for help, through the Holy Spirit, so we can bring our thoughts, our words, our actions, and our attitudes in line with God’s.  We must allow His Spirit to become the guiding force in our lives to produce the qualities that the Scriptures tell us are found in true Christians.

But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gentleness, self-control…
If we live by the [Holy] Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 2:22-23, 25

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Let’s Pray:

We are so very blessed, heavenly Father, by Your gracious provision for our lives through the gift of the Holy Spirit!  May we remain humble and meek to His influence in our lives.  Truly may we seek His convicting, comforting, helping, and guiding!  And may we respond with submitted and obedient hearts!  Thank You!  We love You!  And we pray, asking these things in Jesus’ name.

Amen.