And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?

Sarah’s plan for Abraham to have a child by her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar, worked. But, not so perfectly. For, as soon as Hagar conceived, she started to flaunt her pregnancy in front of Sarah. In response, Sarah treated Hagar so badly that Hagar ran away from her into the wilderness. When she was in her wilderness . . .

(1). The angel of the Lord found her. And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. – v. 7 Neither Abraham nor Sarah knew where she was. Still, the Lord knew where she was because, like the Good Shepherd going after the one lost sheep, He came looking for her and found her. Thank God He looks for us even when we don’t want to be found.

(2). The angel of the Lord advised her. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. vs. 8-9 It is often the case that when we run away from our problems, we don’t really think the whole thing through. We are just looking for some sense of relief from the pain. The Angel of the Lord basically asked Hagar: “What are you doing? I know Sarah is treating you badly, but where are you going to go? You are pregnant out here in the wilderness. At least for the time being you need to go back to Sarah and submit.” In this case, the Lord’s recommendation was for her to submit instead of quit.

(3). The angel of the Lord promised her. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. v. 10. If you let Sarah tell it, the child that Hagar was going to have would never amount to anything. However, the Lord promised Hagar that the child who would be born to her would also be blessed and have innumerable seed. Praise God that the circumstances under which a child is born cannot negate the anointing or blessing which God attaches to him or her.

(4). The angel of the Lord heard her. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction. v. 11 In Sarah’s house, Hagar had no one to listen to her. Sarah wasn’t about to listen and, for fear of Sarah, Abraham was afraid to listen. Nevertheless, in the wilderness, Hagar found out that the Lord heard her. In fact, that is what the name Ishmael means. Aren’t you glad that even in the wilderness, the Lord hears you?

(5). The angel of the Lord saw her. And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? v. 13 In her pain, Hagar had convinced herself that no one cared to listen to her, that no one saw her struggling and that no one would even miss her if she were gone. What she discovered about the Lord is that He was the kind of God who heard her, saw her and came looking for her. She marked that place in the wilderness and called it Beerlahairoi. This is the place where she looked for God and He saw her. Please know that when you have had it and can’t take anymore, God hears you. God sees you. God is already there to find, comfort and counsel you.