Unwanted: Hagar

The plan of God through Isaac was unthwarted. Made a mistake. They had a child through through Hagar, but that that didn't sidetrack god's plan. God's plan still stood. K? Birth of Ishmael did not thwart plan of god. His plan was unthwarted. Sure, Ishmael was born out of sin. Right? And he was not to be god's covenant son but that does not diminish him. That does not make him less of a son or less of a person or take away his value as a human being in any way. [01:01:23] (46 seconds)  #GodsPlanPrevails

We see in Hagar's story, a universal theme. Okay? And what is that? That god sees and that god hears. God sees but now we know that he hears. Even in our flawed, sinful, and broken lives, God sees you and God hears you. So don't ever think, man, where is god? I'm so far away. He's not gonna notice me. He's not gonna know me. He's not gonna love me. No. He sees you and he hears you. [01:05:45] (42 seconds)  #GodSeesAndHears

But think about it. How was she able to have this chutzpah or the audacity to name God? How was she able to do this? How was she able to do this? Here's an answer, I think. Although invisible, although rejected, although forgotten, unseen, unloved, unwanted, and discarded, that's later on, by her own family, mind you. I believe her confidence came from the fact that God knew her, God saw her, and God cared for her personally. That's how. [00:59:09] (48 seconds)  #KnownAndCared

He does the same for us. No matter how we mess up or how far we travel down the wrong path, god can turn our mistakes into something beautiful and usable. He can also redeem our stories from the sinful mistakes of others. So maybe you've been wrong in some ways. Maybe, you know, you've been scarred, abandoned, labeled in certain way. God can still take you and make a beautiful story out of your life. Lesson number five, god is always present whenever and wherever even when we're not aware of his presence. [01:12:13] (41 seconds)  #RedemptionFromMistakes

You're not you're not dealing with anybody else. It's you and god. You might be shunned by the world, but you can be alone and have an encounter with the living god. And you know what? Your isolation becomes your salvation. Your isolation becomes your redemption, your deliverance. Just like Hagar who met the god of Abraham, who met the god of the universe, who met Yahweh of Israel. She met the lord and she believed. Hallelujah. Praise the lord. [01:08:39] (39 seconds)  #SolitudeYieldsSalvation

Moreover, just like his mother Hagar, he is made in the image of God. And as a son, dearly loved by his father Abraham. The takeaway here is this, guys. You might meet someone who's completely different from you, different background, different religion. K? Maybe someone who's not so nice. Alright? But you cannot forget that that person is still made in the image of god. No matter how different they are, no matter how awful they may be even, every single person is made in the image of God. We cannot forget that. [01:02:09] (41 seconds)  #EveryoneMadeInGodsImage

I've always thought it this way. I don't know about you guys. Sarah, good. Hagar, bad. Isaac, good. Ishmael, bad. I mean, the Arabs and the the religion of Islam came through the line of Ishmael. That that that's truth. But if we were to, just for a moment, put aside all our prejudices, put aside all our pre pre presuppositions, and instead look at Hagar from a purely humane and caring and compassionate lens, I think we'll see a much different picture. [00:47:43] (39 seconds)  #LookBeyondPrejudice

So Hagar was presented to Abraham as his second wife purely purely to become the surrogate vessel or tool to carry a child. I mean, just imagine what that would feel like. Oh, you want me to marry him just so I could give a child? She was used for for a certain purpose. K? Are you seeing the dysfunction in this family yet? First, the polygamy and now this, and sarcasm alert. You know, Sarah was trying to help god along. [00:50:37] (42 seconds)  #UsedButNotWorthless