Latest / Scripture Central / The God Who Sees Me | Come Follow Me 2026 | Genesis 12-17; Abraham 1-2 | John Hilton III | Feb 9-15

Transcript

The God Who Sees Me | Come Follow Me 2026 | Genesis 12-17; Abraham 1-2 | John Hilton III | Feb 9-15 · Scripture Central

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You worship a God who sees you. This is not just ancient
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history. This is our identity.
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And when we really get that, it changes how we see ourselves and
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the world around us. And when we are in our moments
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of despair, God can open our eyes and help us see what we
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cannot see. The God who saw Hagar.
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The God who heard Ishmael is the God who sees you.
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I will not leave you comfortless.
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I will come to you. If you remember our big picture
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overview of the Old Testament from our first class, you
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probably noticed that so far in our course we've been focused on
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the early history events. But now we're going to zoom in
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for the next several class periods on the patriarchs and
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matriarchs, Abraham and Sarah and their descendants.
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And as our course picks up the pace, it can become easy to get
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lost in the storyline. And so I want to start out with
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a recommendation that if you haven't already done it, I
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highly recommend the Church's Old Testament Stories book.
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There's a free version of it available online.
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You can buy a hard copy. It's not just for kids.
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It is really helpful, I think, even for adults to just get an
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understanding of the storyline. So I've linked to it on the
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course website. And again, I just want to men
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that you read through this entire book, it would probably
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only take 45 minutes or so, but it's so helpful because there's
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lots of details in the Old Testament.
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And when we get lost in the storyline, it's easy to get
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discouraged and just say, oh, I'm going to give up on it.
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But the storyline is fascinating.
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So get the big picture and that will help you with some of the
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smaller details along the way. Today, as we focus on the
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stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar, we'll see that one of the
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biggest challenges in life is managing expectations.
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And I think we've all been there, right?
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You've been on Pinterest, you've seen this amazing creation.
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It's your expectation, but your reality is somewhat different.
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Or it's the first snowfall of the year.
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You're so excited to go out with one of your kids.
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You're going to build this beautiful looking snowman.
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Yours doesn't look quite so nice.
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Or I think of some of those return missionaries.
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They get home from their missions, they go to BYU.
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This is their expectation and their reality.
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So when our expectations are different from our reality, it
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can cause problems, it can decrease our happiness.
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In fact, the researchers of a large scale study wrote,
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momentary happiness is a state that reflects not how well
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things are going, but instead whether things are going better
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than expected. So it sounds strange, but
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actually, if you want to increase your happiness, lower
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your expectations. And I bring this up because
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there's an expectation that I think some of us might have deep
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in our hearts that can hurt our happiness.
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That expectation is if I keep the commandments, everything is
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going to work out for me in the short run.
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Cognitively, we look at that and we think it's probably not true,
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but often we act as though it were.
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But the Scriptures clearly show us this is not reality.
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Just think about Abraham's life. Abraham wanted to have a loving
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family. Instead, he had an abusive
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father. Sarah and Abraham were married.
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Their expectation was to have children, but the reality was
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they struggled with infertility for decades.
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The Lord told Abraham and Sarah to move to Canaan.
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Can you sense their high hopes? But the reality there was a
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famine in the land when they arrived.
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Just because you're doing what's right, it doesn't mean
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everything is going to work out for you in the short run.
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And let's explore this by looking more carefully at some
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parts of Abraham's life. The book of Abraham chapter one,
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verse one begins with what might be one of the biggest
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understatements in Scripture. Abraham says, I Abraham saw that
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it was needful for me to obtain another place of residence.
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I mean, it kind of sounds like his contract has expired.
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He's kind of like, you know, move to the next apartment
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complex or something. But when you keep reading, you
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find out the reason Abraham has to move is his family members
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are trying to kill him. Abraham records.
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My family members turned their hearts to the sacrifice of the
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heathen and offering up their children unto dumb idols, and
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hearken not unto my voice, but endeavored to take away my life.
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So in this moment of extreme danger, as they lifted up their
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hands upon me, Abraham says, I lifted up my voice unto the
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Lord. My God, the Angel of his
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presence stood by me, and immediately unloosed my bands,
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and his voice was unto me, Abraham.
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Abraham, behold, my name is Jehovah, and I have heard thee,
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and have come down to deliver thee.
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And the Lord broke down the altar and smote the priest that
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he died. Now, this is the kind of
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scripture story I loved as a kid.
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It's like David and Goliath or Daniel and the lion's den.
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All the odds are stacked against you, and God provides the
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miracle. And it's actually this kind of
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story that reinforces the expectation in my heart.
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If I do what's right, everything's going to work out.
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In recent years, I've come to appreciate even more another
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kind of story in the scriptures. It's paired with Abraham's
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story. It's the story of the three
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young women at the same altar. Abraham tells us that before he
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was sacrificed, the same priest had offered upon this altar 3
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virgins. Because of their virtue, they
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would not bow down to worship gods of wood or of stone.
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Therefore, they were killed upon this altar.
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These three powerful young women remind us that things don't
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always work out in the short run for the faithful.
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That's true in Scripture, and it's true in real life today.
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I don't know if you've ever seen a church movie.
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I saw a church movie once kind of like this.
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It's a bunch of youth are watching a movie, and you can
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tell that something in the movie is bad because the music gets
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dark and the screen gets dark, and you're wondering, like,
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what's going to happen? And one of the youth raises his
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hand is like, hey, guys, I don't feel good about this.
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And everyone else is like, yeah, I don't feel good about it
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either. I just didn't know what to say.
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And everyone goes up and eats ice cream and they're all happy.
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So the next week, you're at your friend's house, you're watching
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a movie, and something dark comes on the screen.
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And so you're like, hey, guys, I don't think we should be
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watching this. And everyone says shut up and
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you go eat ice cream with your friend's mom.
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You know, it's just like it's not exactly what you had hoped
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would happen. You can do the right thing and
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still feel lonely. You can keep all the
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commandments and still have family members go astray.
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Dark things happen even in the best of people's lives.
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The example of these three young women in Abraham chapter 1 gives
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me the courage to move forward. Even when things are hard.
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I believe there is a strength that comes into to our lives
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when we believe in God, not based on what the outcomes are,
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but we believe in Him whatever the outcomes are.
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Think about that. Do I believe in God because He's
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like a cosmic vending machine who can give me whatever I want?
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Or do I believe in God because He's a loving Father who cares
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about me even when things are hard?
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So things were definitely hard for Abraham, so we had to move.
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So scholars debate on Abraham's starting point.
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But eventually he makes his way to Haran in southern Turkey and
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then down to Canaan in the Promised Land.
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Abraham was 75 years old and Sarah was 65 when they arrived
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at Canaan. And this begins a new chapter in
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their lives, not just a new chapter of geography, but a new
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chapter of their identity that's going to be centered in what we
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call today the Abrahamic covenant.
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And because we are part of Abraham's family, we have part
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in this covenant as well. And something that I hope is
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really deep in each of our hearts is that the Abrahamic
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covenant isn't ancient history. It's our identity.
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Now, some of us might feel a little uncertain about, OK, what
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exactly is the Abrahamic covenant?
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Maybe a simple version of it is to remember the three PS3
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promises. Abraham is given a promised
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land, posterity, and priesthood, and along with these promises
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there's a specific responsibility given to Abraham
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and his descendants. So let's look at this a little
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more carefully. First is a promised land.
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When Abraham arrives in Canaan, God says to your offspring, I
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will give this land. And then in chapter 13, he
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repeats the promise, saying, look around from where you are
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to the north, to the South, to the east, to the West.
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All the land you see I will give to you and your offspring
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forever. And this promise is continually
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reiterated to Abraham and his descendants.
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Second is posterity. God told Abraham, I will make
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your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone
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could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
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So we've got promised land posterity.
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And in the Book of Abraham, chapter 2, we see a clear
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promise about both priesthood as well as the responsibility that
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comes with the Abrahamic covenant.
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God says, I will make thy name great among all nations, and
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thou shalt be a blessing unto thy seed after thee, that in
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their hands they shall bear this ministry and priesthood unto all
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nations. As many as receive this gospel
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shall be called after thy name, and shall be accounted thy seed,
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and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be
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blessed, even with the blessings of the gospel.
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Sometimes a person might wonder like, well, am I really part of
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Abraham's seed? Is he of my literal ancestor?
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He definitely could be your literal ancestor.
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But notice here it says as many receive this gospel shall be
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accounted thy seed. So whether or not you're
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literally Abraham's descendant, you and I are all literally part
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of this covenant. We've been promised posterity,
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priesthood, a promised land, and we've been given the
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responsibility to help take the gospel to the world.
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This is not just ancient history.
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This is our identity. And when we really get that, it
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changes how we see ourselves and the world around us.
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Elder David A Bednar taught we are the seed of Abraham.
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You and I today and always are to bless all peoples in all the
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nations of the earth. You and I today and always are
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to bear witness of Jesus Christ and declare the message of
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restoration. Proclaiming the Gospel is not an
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assignment we must complete. Rather missionary work is a
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manifestation of our spiritual identity and heritage.
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We were foreordained in the pre mortal existence and born into
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mortality to fulfill the covenant and promise God made to
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Abraham. That is who we are and that is
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why we are here today and always.
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How does it change your life to know that is why you were here?
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You were born to share the gospel.
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Now, you might remember a few class periods ago we talked
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about the doctrines, principles, and application framework.
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So doctrines are truths of salvation that God reveals.
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Principles grow out of doctrine. They're doctrinally based
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guidelines to help us exercise our agency, and then
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applications grow out of principles.
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These are specific behaviors. So if we think about this
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doctrine that we've been talking about, maybe we could fit into
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the framework something like this.
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God made covenants with Abraham that continued to this day.
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Growing out of that doctrine is a principle.
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As Abraham's descendant, I have a role to play in taking the
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gospel to all the earth. What's the application of this
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principle for you personally? So there's lots of possible
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applications, right? I could share the gospel in
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normal ways, or I could go be a full time missionary or serve as
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a service missionary. There's lots of possibilities
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and some are really simple, like let's suppose this Sunday
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morning I wake up and I don't feel like going to church.
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If the doctrine of the Abrahamic Covenant is deep in my heart,
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can you see how I'll view church differently?
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It's not about do I feel like going to church.
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I'm part of a 4000 year old covenant that is all about
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gathering Israel and a portion of Israel is gathering today in
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sacrament meeting. So for sure I'm going to go and
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I'm going to bring a bunch of people with me as well.
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Even something as simple as a sacrament meeting can be
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transformed when we feel the Abrahamic covenant in our
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hearts. So I'd love to hear some of your
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thoughts on this question. What is God teaching you about
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your responsibilities with the Abrahamic Covenant?
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In President Monson's very last address that he was well enough
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and strong enough to give it the pulpit was in the October 2015
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General Conference. And he said as we follow the
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teachings and the example of the Savior and live as he did,
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there'll be a light in us that will light the way for others.
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And I just tried to use that as my platform every day because I
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don't think I'm a real strong missionary when it comes to
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pulling out scriptures and and that, but if I can just love as
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the Savior loved, I think that I'm getting close to living that
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covenant. Thank you.
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Our son is an active in the church, but we just my husband
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and I just feel like the most important way, I guess that we
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can be keeping this Abrahamic covenant is just to be that
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light that the sister just talked about.
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The more that we can just love others and accept them where
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they're at, but also that we can be where we're at.
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It's it's OK. And I think that's all the Lord
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expects of us at this time. Thank you.
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So we're part of a 4000 year old covenant, but we've got to have
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the right expectations. Just because we're part of the
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Abrahamic covenant does not mean everything's going to be easy
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for us. And things certainly weren't
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easy for Abraham because he'd been given all of these
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promises, but they didn't seem to be happening.
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So on one occasion, Abraham pours his heart out to God and
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he says, Lord, how can I know? God says, I'm giving you a
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promised land, I'm giving you posterity.
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But here I was like, none of it's coming.
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And maybe we feel the same way, maybe of a patriarchal blessing
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that talks about your future marriage and your future
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children. And now you're getting up in age
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and you're wondering like, what's happening with those
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promises? Sometimes we're going to say,
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Lord, how can I know? And in Abraham's case, God gives
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a very interesting response. He says, bring me a heifer, a
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goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a
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young pigeon. I mean, I think that's a strange
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request, honestly. Like if I were like, Lord, how
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can I know? And he's like, bring me a cow, a
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goat. I'd be like.
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How about Chick-fil-A? You know, So I was like.
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But Abraham was obedient. And notice what Abraham does.
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We read. Abraham brought all these things
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to him, cut them in two, and arrange the halves opposite each
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other. Now, God did not tell Abraham to
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cut many of the animals in 2. Abraham just knows automatically
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how to do that. How does Abraham know what to
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do? It's because Abraham's thinking,
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oh, I get it, we're going to be cutting a covenant.
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The Hebrew phrase that we translate into English is make a
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covenant. Literally in Hebrew is to cut a
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covenant. In the ancient Near East,
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sometimes there was a ritual involved with making a covenant
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where animals would be cut in half and put on either side of a
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path, and the two parties making the covenant would walk between
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the paths or walking the path between the animals.
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It was a symbolic way of saying something like, if I break the
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covenant I'm about to make May, what's happened to these animals
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happen to me. This is a lot more intense than
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a pinky promise, that's for sure.
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Now something very surprising happens after Abraham lays out
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the animals we read. When the sun had set and
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darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch
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appeared and passed between the pieces.
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Now, let's be honest, most of us probably read that verse.
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We're like, that's weird and we just keep reading, but like,
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let's slow it down. This verse connects directly to
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Mount Sinai, where God appears in the book of Exodus and makes
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a covenant with his people. Mount Sinai was covered with
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smoke because the Lord descended on it in fire.
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The same basic elements, smoke and fire, are present in both
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accounts. In other words, this smoking
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fire pot in blazing torch in Genesis 15, this is God himself
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is walking between the animals, making a covenant with Abraham.
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And there's something surprising about this story, which is you
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might have noticed that God himself walks between the
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pieces, but Abraham doesn't. That's a reversal because in a
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ancient Near Eastern context, sometimes the king would not
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walk between the pieces. It was the lower status person
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that would walk between the pieces, but God reverses that.
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He walks through. It's like God is saying to
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Abraham, even if you fail, I will not fail.
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So the answer to Abraham's question, Lord, how can I know
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was a covenant. You see, Abraham's future
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doesn't depend on Abraham's strength.
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It depends on God's promise. So if you're in doubt about a
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decision in your life, if if deep down inside somewhere
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you're saying Lord, how can I know?
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The answer is in our covenants. As we hold fast to our
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covenants, we'll feel God's peace.
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And I testify that is true. So in Genesis chapter 17, God
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appears to Abraham again and promises him posterity a
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promised land. But this time the covenant is
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connected to a new name and a token.
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In Genesis 17 the token is circumcision.
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We read And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and
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it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.
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Other Bible translations refer to this as a sign of the
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covenant. So the terms token and sign
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point to circumcision being a tangible reminder of the
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covenant Abraham is making, just like we recently saw with Noah's
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flood and the rainbow being a token or sign of the covenant.
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At this time, Abraham and Sarah are also given new names.
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Now what happens next is powerful.
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God commands Abraham and we read on that very day Abraham took
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every male in his household and circumcised them as God told
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him. That is faith.
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No delaying for Abraham. Think about what the word itself
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means. The word circumcision comes from
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2 Latin roots meaning around like circumference and to cut
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into like incision. So it literally means to cut
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around and a person might think to themselves why are we even
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talking about this? Because Jesus Christ himself
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said the law of circumcision is done away in me.
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So for us, physical circumcision, it's not part of
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the gospel. But notice what the apostle Paul
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wrote. When you came to Christ, you
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were circumcised, but not by a physical procedure.
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Christ performed a spiritual circumcision, the cutting away
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of your sinful nature. That's a powerful verse.
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Now, just I'm going to put a few questions up on the screen.
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Think about what Paul's words might mean for us in our
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covenants. Can you think of an experience
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where God helped you cut away something harmful in your life?
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How did it change you? In ancient times, circumcision
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marked someone as belonging to the covenant.
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How does Paul's metaphor help us understand what it means to
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belong to Christ today? On the day God commanded
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circumcision, Abraham obeyed. Is there something you're
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feeling like you should cut out of your life right now?
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Now, these questions, it might lead us to start thinking about
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specific things in our lives to remove, like maybe there's some
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bad media in my life and I need to cut it out.
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And that's not a bad application.
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But notice in the verse Paul is specifically talking about
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changing our natures, the cutting away of our sinful
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nature. Just like the people of King
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Benjamin, who had no disposition to do evil in time, Christ
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changes our very natures. And what does that look like an
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application versus just like cutting out something and then
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just replacing it with something that is the same thing?
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But different. A little bit of a thought that I
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have is you're right, like sometimes we want to checklist
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like I'm going to cut out these three bad things.
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I'm going to do these three good things and but it's not just.
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About the actions I'm taking, it's about becoming.
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And so, at least for me, part of the answer is to, metaphorically
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speaking, immerse myself in Jesus, this Christ, to stare at
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him, his. Love his.
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Sacrifice to really just let it marinate my heart.
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And you can do that through Scripture study, through the
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temple, through music, through movies.
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And you can do it in a way that's just like checklist,
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doing all the things. And you can also do it in a way
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where it's just like you're standing at awe of the beauty of
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Jesus. And the more I see the beauty of
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Christ and his life and his love and his mercy, then that changes
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my nature. The Scripture passage that we
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looked at said that he is the one who's going to cut away the
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sinful nature. So yes, I've got to do my part
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and cut out certain things from my life, but ultimately this is
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a spiritual rebirth in Christ. Here's one last thought on this
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topic. Circumcision was a mark that was
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covered by clothing, and it reminded people of their
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covenants. Consider a quote from Elder
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Carlos AC in the Ensign, he wrote.
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Temple garments bear several simple marks of orientation
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toward the gospel principles of obedience, truth, life, and
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discipleship in Christ. These marks worn under our
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clothing, remind us of the covenants that we have made, and
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keeping these covenants connects us with Christ.
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Now, I acknowledge this is a sensitive topic.
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Maybe we shouldn't have spent so much time discussing it.
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But our next topic might be even more sensitive.
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It's the story of Sarah and Hagar.
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You remember the basic storyline.
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Abraham and Sarah don't have any children.
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By the time we get to Genesis 16, Abraham is 85, Sarah is 75.
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It does not look like kids will be coming naturally.
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So Sarah comes up with a plan. She said to Abraham, The Lord
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hath restrained me from bearing, I pray thee, go in unto my maid,
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that it may be that I may obtain children by her and Abram
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hearken to the voice of Sarai. Now for us in a modern
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perspective, this is a terrible story, like what is going on
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from Sarah's perspective, though this is a valid form of
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surrogate motherhood. But once Hagar is expecting,
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tension rises. Hagar is disrespectful towards
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Sarah, Sarah takes offense, she starts becoming abusive, and so
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Hagar runs away into the wilderness.
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Now let's just pause and remember this story is more than
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4000 years old and we only have fragments of it.
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So we got to be really careful how we interpret it.
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We can just kind of make some tentative ideas.
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It's interesting that a lot of Bible commentators criticize
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Sarah. They say Sarah is not exercising
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faith. She should have trusted in God's
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timing. They're thinking that by
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offering Hagar, you know, to be the surrogate mother, that
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that's a failure on Sarah's part.
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And maybe it was. There definitely are times where
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we need to stand still and let God do his work.
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But I also think there's a very different way we could look at
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Sarah. We could see her as a woman of
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great faith. I mean, she left her home with
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Abraham. She's been struggling in the
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promised land. The promises that she's been
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given haven't been fulfilled. So she says to herself, you
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know, you're supposed to do everything you possibly can.
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I'm going to take this terrible step and even offer my maid to
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Abraham. I can see Sarah doing this as an
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act of great faith. And again, we don't have all the
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details. For example, Doctrine and
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Covenants Section 132 adds in an insight that's not present in
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the Genesis account. The Lord says I command it
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Abraham to take Hagar to wife. So with this added perspective,
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it seems Sarah's not interfering with God's plan.
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She's helping to bring it about. So I hope that we can admire
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Sarah's faith. That obviously doesn't justify
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her abusing Hagar, but none of us want to be judged by our very
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worst moments. But let's turn to Hagar, because
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as tough as Sarah's situation is, Hagar's could be much worse.
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We have no idea how Hagar ended up in Sarah and Abraham's
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household, but it's pretty sure that she did not sign up for it.
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She's from another country, she's a woman, she's a servant.
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It's hard to think of somebody with less power than Hagar.
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When the plan comes up to have her be a surrogate mother, it's
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very doubtful she had any say in the matter.
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Hagar reminds us that sometimes we are going to be in a dark,
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difficult place that we didn't choose to be, and we're there
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through no fault of our own. When Sarah starts abusing Hagar,
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Hagar flees into the wilderness. Picture a pregnant woman, alone,
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scared, exhausted, costed. She has no power, no protection,
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no plan. Some of you might be thinking
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yourself, wow, I wish I could just watch a movie about Hagar.
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Which granted, there actually is a short film about Hagar.
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I've linked to it on our course website and I definitely
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encourage you to check it out. So Hagar is on the run.
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She's desperate, alone in the desert, but even still, she is
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not too lost to be found. We read the Angel of the Lord
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found Hagar. Now just pause for a moment.
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Did you know that in the Bible, the first time an Angel appears
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to anyone is to Hagar right here?
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It's not to Moses, it's not to Abraham.
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It's to a runaway servant girl. What does that tell us about how
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God views the marginalized? So the Angel of the Lord found
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Hagar near a spring in the desert and said, Hagar, servant
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of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?
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We sometimes say that God doesn't care about where you've
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been. He only cares about where you're
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going. But this first makes me wonder
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about that because the Angel specifically asks, where have
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you been? This is the first time that
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anyone has called Hagar by name in the story.
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This is the first time we're going to hear Hagar's voice.
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I love how God is making a space for Hagar to tell her story.
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He cares about our story. And Hagar says I'm running away
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from my mistress. Notice that the Angel asked
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where are you going? But Hagar, I don't think she
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knows where she's going. She says what she's leaving, but
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she doesn't know what she's going to.
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I wonder if the same thing is true for us.
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Sometimes we're running away from something, but we don't
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know what we're running towards. It doesn't matter.
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The Lord found Hagar right where she was.
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And to Hagar the Lord said, go back to your mistress and submit
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to her. Now again, with modern ears,
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this might sound kind of disturbing and I hope that no
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one gets a principle from this story.
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You should go back into an abusive relationship.
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Clearly that is not the message for us.
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In context, it's very possible that in Hagar circumstance, this
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is the only way that Hagar and her child will survive.
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And this is going to be a very special child.
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The Lord says you are now pregnant and you will give birth
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to a son. You shall name him Ishmael.
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I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too
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numerous to count. What a promise.
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So Hagar returns and she gives birth to Ishmael.
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And as you know, Ishmael will become the father of many Arab
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nations and, according to tradition, the father of
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Muhammad. So the story that we're talking
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about here in Genesis 16 is really foundational for the
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three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
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Now, at the end of the conversation between the Lord
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and Hagar, Hagar does something that no one else in the Bible
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has done up to this point. She names God.
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She says you are the God who sees me.
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Think about that for a moment. You worship a God who sees you.
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If you've ever felt like the phone isn't ringing as much as
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it used to, Hagar's story is for you.
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And if you've ever poured years of your life into raising
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children only to wonder if anyone remembers your sacrifice,
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Hagar's story is for you. And if you're recovering from
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trauma that no one should have ever had to experience, Hagar's
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story is especially for you. Because God found Hagar in the
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wilderness, and he can find you in your wilderness.
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If Hagar can say you are the God who sees me, God sees you as
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well. Now it would be great to say
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that Hagar story ended with a happily ever after.
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But remember our expectations. Even when you're on the Lord's
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errand, life is still going to offer many challenges.
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So 14 years later, Ishmael is now a young man.
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Sarah gives birth to Isaac. Family conflict again arises and
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Ishmael and Hagar are sent away. As they wander through the
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desert, Hagar and Ishmael run out of water.
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We read Hagar put the boy under one of the bushes.
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Then she went off and sat down about.
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A boat shot away. For she thought, I cannot watch
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the boy die. And as she sat there, she began
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to sob. Ishmael was sobbing too.
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And we read, God heard the boy crying, God saw Hagar, he heard
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Ishmael, and he said, what is the matter, Hagar, do not be
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afraid. Then God opened her eyes and she
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saw a well of water. Now maybe the well just
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magically appeared, but I think the well had been there all
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along. God opened her eyes and helped
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her see what she couldn't see in her moment of despair.
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And when we are in our moments of despair, God can open our
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eyes and help us see what we cannot see.
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Let's just pause any comments anyone wants to make about
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anything we've been talking about so far.
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My heart really goes out to Hagar.
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She was trying to do her best. She was doing what she was asked
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to do and it seemed like like no matter what she did, it all
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turned against her. And I think a lot of us can
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relate to that. I love that the Atonement
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refines us. He is the only one that can
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change us. If we turn to Him.
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We can try all our might to do it ourselves, but unless we turn
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to Him, we can't change. He refines us.
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He is the one that will change us.
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So how do you know that? How have you seen that in your
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own life? I thought that I would never
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need the atonement. Just growing up, I thought I'm
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never going to do anything wrong.
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I thought the Atonement was for mistakes.
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And I realized I needed that refinement for hurt, anger, and
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all those things healing. And that's when I had to turn to
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Him to get that purification through my soul and heart that I
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needed. And that's when I realized that
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He is there for every experience in life.
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Thank you. Now we often think of the story
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of Abraham and Isaac and how it's a type of Heavenly Father
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in Jesus Christ. I wonder if we could do the same
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for Hagar in Ishmael. Hagar was a servant, despised
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and cast out. Jesus, too, was a suffering
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servant, the stone rejected by the builders.
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Ishmael wept in the wilderness, reminding us of Christ from the
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cross. My God, my God, why have you
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forsaken me? But there's a difference.
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God hears Ishmael's cry and provides water to save him.
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But when Jesus cries out, there's no rescue.
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What's the difference? Why?
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It's because Christ was taking the place of every Ishmael,
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every Hagar, every one of us. He said I am thirsty so that we
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could drink the living waters. Christ was cast out so that we
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could be brought in. And that means Hagar's story is
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our story. The God who saw Hagar, the God
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who heard Ishmael, is the God who sees you.
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He is the same God who has promised to each and every one
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of us in John chapter 14. I will not leave you
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comfortless. I will come to you.
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He is the God who sees you.