Session 11

You are not alone in your pain

From Genesis: A 7-Week Devotional

Lost and desperate, our only defense is to run away from our problems. Our problems—ranging from the death of a loved one to someone gossipping about us at work—can parade around as giants we believe we can’t face. Our biggest defeat in our battles is measuring our own strength against our problems, rather than measuring God’s strength against them.

In Genesis 16, Hagar faced a seemingly impossible problem. She was Sarai’s slave. And, when Sarai and Abram lost faith in God’s ability to overcome Sarai’s barrenness, Sarai forced Hagar to sleep with Abram to have a child for them. After Hagar became pregnant, jealousy and anger overtook Sarai. So, Hagar decided to run away from this beast of a problem (Genesis 16:1-6).  

While on the run, “the angel of the Lord found Hagar…” (Genesis 16:7). Notice the Lord found and came to Hagar during her desperate situation.

While talking with the angel of the Lord, Hagar realized where her strength should come from. Genesis 16:3 says, “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.’” 

God desires to draw near to those who are brokenhearted and beat up by life. There are times when it may feel like God has forgotten about us. Hagar reminds us that God sees us. He sees every problem, big and small. He knows every detail, every emotion, every thought we have.

When we surrender our circumstances to the One who sees us, we can stop running and turn ourselves around. And like Hagar, we can face our giants with a godly strength. Remember, “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Reflect:

• What is one practical way you can remember God sees you in everything?
• What situation have you yet to surrender to the One who sees you?
• What is one step you can take today to surrender it?