Fear Not! A Guide to Living a Fearless LifeNäide

Strengthen Me According to Your Word

“But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking, and she said to Abraham, ‘Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.’ The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son. But God said to him, ‘Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned’” (Genesis 21:9-12, NIV).

Ishmael (son of Abraham and Hagar) would have been around seventeen years old when this incident happened. Ishmael was no longer an only child, and he was probably jealous of Isaac and all the attention he was getting from his dad. To further complicate matters, Sarah didn’t like Hagar (her maidservant), and I suspect Hagar didn’t much care for Sarah either.

No doubt Abraham would be distressed when Sarah tells him to get rid of Ishmael, his own son. God saw Abraham’s dilemma and intervened, telling Abraham to do what Sarah asks him to do. Please note God didn’t lecture Abraham here, telling him, “If only you had waited on Me, this would have never happened.” God saw the pain and anxiety troubling Abraham and comforted him.

So much is made of Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice Isaac, but surely there was similar pain in letting his firstborn son go. This was not like today, when we send our child off to college. His child and the child’s mother were kicked out of the family for good. Hagar had, in essence, become a widow; she was now a single parent.

“You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and You listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more” (Psalm 10:17-18, NIV). God has always had great compassion for widows and the fatherless, and He did with Ishmael and Hagar. God said, “I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring" (Genesis 21:13, NIV).

So what do you do when things don’t make sense, when it looks like a lose/lose situation? You have to do what Abraham did, which was to listen to God. Abraham didn’t have a Bible in his day, but you do. If you’re distressed today, God wants to lift you out of the pit. “My soul melts from heaviness; strengthen me according to Your word” (Psalm 119:28, NKJV). Whatever you’re dealing with today, let God strengthen you today with His word.

Prayer: Strengthen me according to Your word, Lord. May I find comfort in knowing the challenges I’m dealing with today You have already written me a prescription. I pray You open my spiritual eyes so that when I can read it, I will understand it, and most importantly, apply it to my life. In Jesus name, amen.