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TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” Genesis 16:7-8

Read: Genesis 16:5-16
Listen: Genesis 16

TODAY’S MESSAGE

A meltdown leads to a breaking point in Abram’s family. Tired of waiting on God, Sarai’s plan to give her slave as a surrogate mother doesn’t go well. Hagar develops a smug attitude toward Sarai. Sarai blames Abram. Abram goes all passive. Sarai mistreats Hagar, so she runs away. But this isn’t the end of Hagar’s story. An angel of the Lord finds her in the desert and speaks kindly to her. She is not alone. God sees her misery. He knows why she ran, but he instructs her to return home. He assures her he has a plan, and she will have many descendants. He names her unborn son. Hagar is so overwhelmed God sees her that she gives him a name. “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).

This story shows we aren’t alone in our breaking points. An angel may not show up, but we have God’s Word, his community of believers and the Holy Spirit who never leaves us. All of these reassure us that God sees us when things get tough—we find out our parents are divorcing, our wedding is canceled, we didn’t make the team, or we didn’t get the job. We are born looking for someone who sees us. We want to know we aren’t alone when life becomes miserable. This story reminds us God is the One who always sees us too.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

Offer a prayer of thanksgiving as you listen to the Ada Bible Worship Team sing “Goodness of God.” Thank God that “Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me. With my life laid down, I’m surrendered now. I give You everything.”

2023 SPIRITUAL PRACTICES

Join us all of 2023 developing a different spiritual practice each month. SPIRITUAL PRACTICES are intentional regular activities to deepen our relationship with God and mold us to be more like Jesus.

September is COMMUNITY. Keep track of our spiritual practices at beyondtheweekend.org/spiritualpractices.

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.