Called By Name
I remember it clearly: I am standing in the airport concourse as people rush past me.
I am a young teen traveling alone for the first time, and I have missed my
connecting flight. I have no idea how to continue my journey.
I feel bewildered and scared. And I am completely alone. What should I do now?
I imagine Hagar also felt alone and bewildered on the desert road. An
Egyptian maidservant, she had run away from the harsh treatment of her mistress.
In the weariness of early pregnancy, she rested by a spring of water for a
while.
What a surprise! There in the wilderness, someone finds her and calls her by name.
Then the Lord floods her with a torrent of blessing: I will give you more descendants than you can count…You...will give birth to a son. (Gen. 16:10-11). She will have a son! She will have innumerable descendants. God tells her to name her baby Ishmael (“God hears”) as a constant reminder that the Lord has heard her distress.
Hagar is so stunned by this wilderness encounter that she gives God a name. Ever after, she refers to him as El-roi, “the-God-who-sees-me” (Gen. 16:13). Before this, she probably assumed she was too insignificant for God’s personalized attention. Now she knows better!
She has met the Living One who sees her, hears her distress, calls her by name and blesses her future.
Hagar’s God is the same living Lord we encounter. More than once, we may find ourselves in “wilderness” places of exhaustion, loneliness or confusion. We wonder how to go on from here.
As we age, we start to run out of mental and physical resources to
continue on our way. We face loss and bereavement. Our funds diminish. Our weariness grows. We feel bewildered and alone.
We wonder whether God notices our current predicament. Are we important enough for God’s one-on-one attention?
The Scriptures confirm over and over that we relate to a loving God who
-calls us by name (Isaiah 43:1)
-sees where we are (Psalm 121:7-8)
-hears our cries (Psalm 34:17)
-guides and blesses our future (Jer.29:11).
If we find ourselves downcast and disconsolate in a wilderness place like Hagar, we can lift up our eyes and open our ears to the One who calls us by name. Our help comes from the-God-who-sees-us!
©MarionSpeicherBrown
I am a young teen traveling alone for the first time, and I have missed my
connecting flight. I have no idea how to continue my journey. I feel bewildered and scared. And I am completely alone. What should I do now?
Suddenly someone calls out: “Marion! Where are you headed?” I turn
to see a family friend, who happens to pass me on her way to her departing flight.
She stops. Sensing my distress, she knows just what to do. She guides me to the service desk, where I receive an alternate flight to reach my destination.
She stops. Sensing my distress, she knows just what to do. She guides me to the service desk, where I receive an alternate flight to reach my destination.
Sixty years later, I still recall the surprise of hearing my name in
that airport. Someone noticed me! Someone knew me by name! Someone was there to help.
I imagine Hagar also felt alone and bewildered on the desert road. An
Egyptian maidservant, she had run away from the harsh treatment of her mistress.
In the weariness of early pregnancy, she rested by a spring of water for a
while. What a surprise! There in the wilderness, someone finds her and calls her by name.
The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a
spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. The angel said to
her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you
going?” (Genesis 16: 7-8 NLT)
After calling her by name, the angel asks her two questions. Hagar answers
only the first. She knows where she has come from, but where to go from here is
unclear.
No matter—God gives her direction for what to do next, namely, to go
back to Sarai and Abram. Then the Lord floods her with a torrent of blessing: I will give you more descendants than you can count…You...will give birth to a son. (Gen. 16:10-11). She will have a son! She will have innumerable descendants. God tells her to name her baby Ishmael (“God hears”) as a constant reminder that the Lord has heard her distress.
Hagar is so stunned by this wilderness encounter that she gives God a name. Ever after, she refers to him as El-roi, “the-God-who-sees-me” (Gen. 16:13). Before this, she probably assumed she was too insignificant for God’s personalized attention. Now she knows better!
She has met the Living One who sees her, hears her distress, calls her by name and blesses her future.
Hagar’s God is the same living Lord we encounter. More than once, we may find ourselves in “wilderness” places of exhaustion, loneliness or confusion. We wonder how to go on from here.
As we age, we start to run out of mental and physical resources to
continue on our way. We face loss and bereavement. Our funds diminish. Our weariness grows. We feel bewildered and alone. We wonder whether God notices our current predicament. Are we important enough for God’s one-on-one attention?
The Scriptures confirm over and over that we relate to a loving God who
-calls us by name (Isaiah 43:1)
-sees where we are (Psalm 121:7-8)
-hears our cries (Psalm 34:17)
-guides and blesses our future (Jer.29:11).
If we find ourselves downcast and disconsolate in a wilderness place like Hagar, we can lift up our eyes and open our ears to the One who calls us by name. Our help comes from the-God-who-sees-us!
©MarionSpeicherBrown
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