Get ready to start a journey…a journey through the pages of the Bible and the pages of your life.
Have you ever been tested? Severely tested? If you answered that question, “Yes,” you can relate to Abraham in today’s passage. And, even if you haven’t experienced it yet, you will also see in this passage that God is always at work, and he always provides.
The prophet Jeremiah declared that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. But what if it did? Jeremiah said that God’s mercies never come to an end (Lam. 3:22). But what if they did? How do we know that God will continue to be with us? Check out today’s passage.
Have you ever walked into a group of unruly people and wondered, “Who’s in charge?” Have you ever considered the broken world and wondered the same thing? Today’s passage reminds us that at the end of the day, God is the Judge who works in his way and his timing.
Abram was seventy-five years old when God told him to leave his family of origin and travel to a new land. God did not tell Abram what the destination would be but simply assured Abram of his presence and guidance. That instruction came with the promise that one day, Abram would be the father of a great nation.
It was a bad idea followed by a bad decision. Sarah couldn’t have children, so she decided to give her Egyptian maidservant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to be his wife. Abraham complied. When Hagar became pregnant, Sarah despised her and blamed Abraham for the situation. Sarah mistreated her maidservant so much so that Hagar ran for her life.
Have you ever grown tired of waiting on God? That’s what happened to Abraham’s wife, Sarah. She decided to take matters into her own hands. Since she had not been able to have children, she told Abraham to sleep with her maidservant Hagar, which he did. Hagar became pregnant, and Sarah became jealous. Hagar finally ran away to escape the mistreatment. The angel of the Lord found her near a spring in the desert.