Genesis 16:13 – “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?”
Hagar ran away from her abusers, pregnant and alone in the desert, when the LORD appeared to her the first time. He instructed her to go back to her Mistress, Sarai. Sarai, Abram’s wife, said God had prevented her from having children, so perhaps she could take matters into her own hands, and that she did, causing pain to her innocent servant, Hagar, by laying this burden on her to carry. I believe there are layers to this context to unveil, but I’ll save that for the theologians. However, I think the burden Sarai laid on Hagar was the burden of her sin of unbelief.
Sarai’s choices caused heartache for herself, her husband, and her family. I believe eventually she came to holy repentance after suffering the consequences of her choices; we all reap what we sow. Sometimes we are Sarai when we struggle with unbelief, and we take matters into our own hands. We think we know better than God. We make messes, shattering everything into pieces, instead of waiting, even though He never forgets His promises. Other times, we are Hagar, taken advantage of, mistreated, treated with indifference, dehumanized, dishonored, dismissed, outcasts —Hagar.
Either way, we are all sinners, sought after, and awakened by Grace. Our new name is Beloved. God sees, forgives, heals, transforms, and redeems. After the LORD changed Abram’s and Sarai’s names to Abraham and Sarah, they conceived and gave birth to the promise, Isaac.
May the LORD meet you on your own day’s journey,
and His gaze of love restores your soul. In Jesus’ Name
Awakened by Grace
O Lord, my God,
As the first light breaks across the horizon, I lift my heart to You.
You have watched over me and my loved ones through the night, giving us the gift of sleep.
Every morning is a new day, a clean slate. You whisper my name with new mercies. Therefore, let our hearts be glad and rejoice in it.
Let Your breath awaken every weary place within me. Let Your Word be the first sound I hear,
and Your presence the first warmth I feel. I am alive in Christ; be exalted in every way, word, and deed.
Guide my steps today, Lord—not along the path of striving, but along the hidden way of trust.
Teach me again that Your silence is not absence, and Your stillness is not delay. You are the Potter;
You are shaping me in ways unseen, calling me deeper into the mystery of Your love. I surrender this day to You—every broken piece of my life I surrender into Your loving care.
Let every moment be filled with Your Peace, and every interruption be a reminder to inhale in Your breath of life, to be still in Sacred Pause, and reflect on the beauty of Your Handiwork. Remind me that I am enough. I am seen, heard, and loved. I am Your Beloved; fearfully and wonderfully made in Your image; the Creator of all things.
Be glorified in all of it, my Jesus. Amen.