God Hears Our Cry

 Genesis 20-22; Luke 8 

“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’…God was with the boy as he grew up…”

Genesis 21:17, 18, 20

God saw Ishmael, heard his cry, and he was with him. However, God did not covenant with Ishmael. As a son of Abraham, God honored Ishmael and made him into a great nation; however, there is a difference between experiencing God’s blessing and a relationship with him. Through Jesus Christ, the descendants of Ishmael are offered a new covenant with God. They, too, are invited into God’s family through the forgiveness of sins and the gift of righteousness in Jesus. Apart from this reconciling covenant with God, we live with the wound of rejection, fear, and an unfulfilled longing for peace at the core of our being. Today, the descendants of Ishmael are finding intimacy with God through salvation in Jesus Christ. The God-given longing for relationship with God is being fulfilled.

“Lord God, thank you that you are reaching out to the descendants of Ishmael through Jesus. Thank you that they, too, are finding their place at your banquet table.”