Life often turns into a Wilderness Experience

Genesis 21: 14-21

While reading these verses, an old song came into my mind, it goes like this; “no never alone, no never alone, He promised never to leave you, never to leave you alone.”  Genesis 21:13, is the account of Abraham obeying God, while his emotions are screaming.  I cannot conceive of the battle that Abraham went through before sending his first-born son away.  But Abraham’s faith was based on God’s faithfulness, the God who keeps all that He has promised, and God had made a promise to Abraham about Ishmael.

“So Abraham rose early in the morning and took the bread and a skin of water and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away.  And she departed and wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba.”  Two thoughts came to mind as I read this, first Abraham waited all night; the Bible is quiet about the battle of his emotions, but it must have been a very long night, but he believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.  The other thought was that God seems to not acknowledge Ishmael as Abraham’s son, verse 13, “And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also, because he is your offspring.”  Ishmael is an example of man’s best effort in helping God to fulfill a promise, and God wants obedience not our help.

It is easy for me to get lost in my neighborhood, so I can easily understand Hagar getting lost in the wilderness of Beersheba.  She runs out of water, and she is thirsty, the boy is thirsty, in fact, it’s past being thirsty; she is in trouble and she has no way of escape.  She leaves Ishmael under a bush and goes about a bowshot from him not wanting to see him die.  “And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar?  Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.  Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” 

We have all had wilderness times in our lives, some wilderness times are so dark, so fearful, the loss of a child, or your mate of fifty plus years; we need to know that God has promised to never leave us, “no never alone, no never alone, He promised never to leave us, never to leave us alone.”  Hagar was no different than you or I, she needed a savior, she needed water, she needed a guide to that water, and God, who is faithful, opened her eyes and she saw a well of water.  She saw the well, but remember it was an act of her will to believe the well had water.  If you’re not in a wilderness at the reading of this, have no doubt; life has a way of turning into a wilderness, where will you look for a savior?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice