If you would like to experience the complete service (including worship and prayer time), please view our Live Stream of the service on our Facebook page.
Pastor Brent drove through a snow storm this week. Unfortunately, he chose a road that had NOT been plowed yet and his windshield wipers were not working. He didn’t even know where the road was. It was scary. The very next morning he bought new wipers to avoid this problem in the future!
We may find ourselves in the storms of life. Sometimes we end up there because of our decisions, other times it just the circumstances of life. In this message, Pastor Brent unpacks the account of Hagar (Genesis 16), which reminds us that God knows your name, He hears your cries and He knows you.
God Knows your Name
Hagar was pregnant with Abram’s child and Abram’s wife, Sarai was jealous of her. Sarai began to mistreat Hagar and eventually she fled to the desert. She was in a hopeless state.
“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
Previously in this chapter, Abram and Sarai always called Hagar, slave or maid servant, they didn’t refer to her by her name. Yet, here God saw her and the angel called her by name! God also knows your name. By nature, people want to be seen and known. We don’t have to look far to see that people want to be seen…people with their faces in tattoos and piercings or other features that attention themselves.
The angel met Hagar where she was at. Likewise, God meets us where we are at! Have you ever felt persecuted or abandoned? God says:
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:9
Even when we are walking through hard times, God will not abandon us!
God Hears your Cries
The angel of the Lord heard Hagar’s cries. In this situation, God instructed Hagar to return home. She needed to deal with the conflict, not run from it. Where are you at? Are you running from hard situations instead of dealing with them? We need to stop playing the victim and start dealing with our problems.
God Knows You
God knows where we have been and where we are going.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.” Psalm 139:1-3
Have you been living the life you want to live instead of the life God has called you to live? We can’t change our past, but we can let God control our future!
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you (James 4:8)! Stop running and go to the stream of life.