The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar . . .”- Genesis 16:7-8
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”- Psalm 139: 7
In Chapter 5 (“God Cares: You Can’t Outrun God”) of Wounded by God’s People, author Anne Graham Lotz observes that although we may become believers in exile as a result of our wounding by God’s people, we can’t outrun God. While we may not sense God’s love and presence, He cares about us as we run from our wounders.
The author notes that while we’re on the run we may converse with or about our wounders. During those imaginary conversations, we rehearse what we’d really like to tell them, honing our words until they are sharp and brilliant. But while we are not at a loss for angry words, we struggle in prayer.
If we gravitate to others who have been wounded and find sympathetic ears for our story, we certainly feel a false sense of support and encouragement. The danger is that we’ll feel justified in our hardness of heart.
Anne stresses that God went after Hagar while she was on the run. God didn’t simply dismiss her as Abraham and Sarah had done because He loved her. As the author concludes:
“While God chose Abraham as the one through whom He would uniquely bless the world, Hagar represented the world that He wanted to bless.”
Today’s question: How might God use your experience of vocation loss to bless you to be a blessing to others? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Was blind, but now I see”
