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Daily Treasure
Daily Treasure is a 365-day devotional written by published author Sharon Betters and the occasional guest author. Every entry in this 365-day devotional embodies the power of God’s Word to encourage, equip, and energize the reader to walk by faith in the pathway God has marked out for them, regardless of its challenges. Devotions includes a treasure from God’s Word, life-giving applications, guided prayers, and a challenge to reflect God’s love in a way that helps turn hearts toward Jesus.
Daily Treasure
Lessons from the Grief of Hagar - What She Said Part 14 - Week 5 Day 3
TODAY'S TREASURE
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and she sat down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot; for she said, “Let me not see the death of the child”, and she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Genesis 21:15-16 KJV
Lessons from the Grief of Hagar
Colette Fabry, Guest Writer
Today’s Treasure
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and she sat down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot; for she said, “Let me not see the death of the child”, and she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
Genesis 21:15-16 KJV
Grief can be long and drawn-out sorrow, like Hagar’s experience in Scripture. She endured years of grief and may have wondered how her life had come to this. Hagar was a slave with no control over her own life and rights, including her body. She was owned by a woman named Sarah, who arranged for Hagar to conceive a child with her husband, Abraham, due to her own barrenness. Even Hagar's child would not be her own. Imagine being treated like mere property.
After Hagar conceived a baby boy, her situation worsened. She faced both physical and emotional cruelty from the now-jealous Sarah.
When the pain became unbearable, Hagar fled into the wilderness, alone and heartbroken. In this desolate place, God, the Creator of the Universe, found her and called out to her. The Most High God spoke to her! This divine encounter transformed Hagar. In Genesis 16:13, she called God El Roi, meaning “the God who sees.” This moment must have been miraculous for Hagar. For so long, she had felt invisible, not seen as someone with feelings and needs, yet Almighty God saw her.
God spoke kindly to Hagar, offering her words of hope. I wonder if anyone had ever spoken hope over her before this encounter? Then, God gave her instructions to return to her circumstances. Go back? To face her grief again? Overwhelmed by the knowledge that God truly saw her, Hagar didn't hesitate to obey. For 13 years after this encounter, she managed her situation without reports of fighting or harsh treatment.
However, five chapters later, Sarah resumes her angry and jealous behavior towards Hagar. Hagar and her son are sent away, finding themselves in the wilderness once again. In her despair, the angel of God meets her there, weeping and broken. Hagar had done the right thing– obeying God and submitting to her unfair circumstances–and now she was abandoned and rejected with no means to provide even water for herself or her son.
This time, in her deep grief, she is graciously released from her bondage. This painful rejection from Abraham and Sarah is what God uses to set her free. From that day forward, she is no longer a slave. She lives her life with her beloved son, surrounded by her family, for the rest of her life. God becomes her deliverer and her gracious provider. Through all of the trials Hagar experiences, she gains a deeper understanding of good versus evil, a personal God who sees and hears his people, and how God can turn even the most hopeless situations into opportunities for good.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
The God who saw Hagar is the same God who sees you in your grief. He sees injustice, the pain of infertility, abuse, loss, and rejection. Even when God seems absent, the same God who went before Hagar and ordained a plan for her life sees you and has a plan for yours.
God is doing a deep work when things look unexplainable. He has a plan and promises unshakable hope, even amid endless tears. You may not know what comes next, but you must trust that God is working out a plan. What He is doing will transform you, revealing a glimpse of a God who will astonish you. You are not forgotten, just like Hagar!
PRAYER
Father, for those who are feeling unseen today, will You show them the truth that You are the God who sees them. Will You give them eyes to see You in their trial and meet them exactly where they are.
