Genesis 21:17 And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of the God called to Hagar out of Heaven and said unto her, What aileth thee Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is.

God hears the voice of a child from where they are–in this case the desert, hungry, thirsty, tired. Hagar, the mother, is afraid. Her child may die. The angel says, Fear not. Easy for them to say, why not so easy for this mom? Doubt.

I doubt. But WHAT do I doubt? I know God hears, I know God sees,, I know God can intervene, I know God can turn water into wine, bring healing, give sight to the blind and open deaf ears, and raise the dead. If I am honest, I doubt He will do it for me! Again, question begs, WHY? I don’t feel worthy. I have been blessed already. But, like Hagar, my child(ren)’s and others pain remains and they too cry out.

I don’t know how long Hagar and this lad had wandered. I do know she was feeling rejected, used up (she was “a slave who done had massa’ boy” to borrow some deep South slave vernacular ) and she is out of options.

Out of options. Is this what produces faith that does not doubt? Because I can do nothing but give up and die or depend on God?

God heard.

God acted–sent an angel to speak, telling Hagar the Almighty had heard and seen and had it under control.

God gave–water, a promise (for right now and the future)

God healed–He opened her eyes

God was with them in the desert.

I have to hand it to Hagar. “What aileth thee?” REALLY? She is in the desert, her kid is dehydrated, she is burnt to a crisp, she has no water……..I mean what could possibly ail her????

Sarcasm is an art in my family! Can you tell?

Why do we get to the end of our rope before we cry out to God? Why is He my last resort instead of my first thought? Some things to ponder today.

Blessings to you!

Yvonne