Genesis 13-16 Nobody

I am very excited, because I came across one of my very favorite Bible verses tonight!

I love the fact that God manages to stick powerful verses like jack in the boxes scattered through scripture, just waiting to jump out and captivate our attention at just the right moment.

So here is today’s Jack-in-the box

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

Genesis 16:13

This verse first caught my attention last year when a wonderful friend brought it to my attention. It has rocked my world ever since.

This verse comes in the midst of Hagar’s story. Hagar was Sarai’s handmaid who was asked to fill a role that she had never been intended to fill. She found herself right in the midst of God’s plan; unfortunately she was a part of the back story that hadn’t really been intended for the script of Abraham’s life.

God had promised to give Abram children through his wife Sarai. He had intended a “Child of Promise” through a miracle that would take place in the lives of Abram and his wife. But, just as God had asked Noah to spend an incredibly long time waiting for God to move, he asked Abram to be paitiant.

Abram and Sarai choose to hurry God’s plan along. They chose to do though biology what God had planned to do through miracle. That’s where Hagar comes in… Sarai asked her to take her place in the story. Hagar was forced to stand in the path of God’s a-list plan.

When Abram and Sarai’s plan succeeds Hagar offends Sarai and is sent away.

Hagar is sitting along in the desert, probably freaking out, when she meets the living God. He actually speaks to her (which has only happened to a limited number of people ever) he promises to work in her life. He guarantees her a future.

I love the fact that we can serve a God who sees a pregnant slave girl sitting in the wilderness. He loved Hagar even though she was not a part of the a-list story. He took a nobody and he allowed her to be a part of his story…

“I have now seen the One who sees me”