God Sees Me | Genesis 16

Opening Remarks: Please turn to Genesis 16. We’ve been in a series in the Gospel of John on Sunday mornings for a while now, and I almost stayed in it today, but with today being Mother’s Day I decided to preach on that this morning. I know Mother’s Day is a secular holiday, but the role of a mother was God’s idea. Moms matter to the Lord. And especially in this culture, we need to be reminded of the importance of God-given roles in a family unit.

When a family operates by God’s design, things are good. But when we leave Him out of the process, we find ourselves in trouble. Our text today deals with a family who bypassed God’s process.

Abram and Sarai spent most of their married lives childless. They probably thought they’d never have children until God chose Abraham to be the father of the nation of Israel and promised them a son. The problem was, the promise didn’t come right away. Over 10 years after the promise, we come to Genesis 16 and find out that God still hasn’t allowed Sarai to become pregnant. And it clearly has become her obsession.

Rather than waiting on God’s timing, she goes to Abram and says, “I have a plan.” Oh the dangers of moving ahead of God. Sarai and Abram take matters into their own hands and create a mess of historic proportions. READ

We could spend the whole message focusing on Abram and Sarai, but I’d like to spend our time looking at Hagar. Here she is, a young, expecting mother just trying to make sense of a situation she didn’t choose to be part of.

If you’ve ever felt like no one sees or cares about you, you understand what Hagar felt. That’s not only true for moms. We can all perceive that no one cares and no one sees and what we’re doing is making no difference at all.

We all feel like that at time. Dads can feel that way. Children can. Employees. SS workers. We all feel unseen at times. Thought this is a Mother’s Day message, the truth applies to all of us. Mothers or not, here’s a truth we all need to remember: God Sees Me. PRAY.

Introduction: How would you describe the ideal mother? Most people would list things like: Unconditional Love, Patient, Sacrificial, Resilient, Selfless, Nurturing, Encouraging, Supportive. In other words, June Cleaver, for those aware of the old TV series, Leave It To Beaver.

Now, how would you describe the reality of motherhood? Taxi Driver, In Home Medical Professional, Full Time Chef…And Dishwasher, Laundry Person, Cleaning Service, Maintenance Supervisor, and a host of other full time jobs.

That’s often the reality of motherhood. Most of the time, you spend your days doing things no one praises and no one notices. And sometimes you just want someone to recognize it.

That’s human tendency. The cliché way to say it these days is this, “Sometimes you just want to be seen.” I don’t want to preach on a cliché, but if we’re being honest, it feels good to be acknowledged.

You may not be a mom this morning, but we were all kids once, and we used to say things like, “Hey mom, watch me! Hey dad, watch this!”

It’s in each of us to be seen. To be acknowledged. To have our value affirmed. You might say, “Well, that’s not my personality.” So you don’t mind pouring yourself into a project at work or home or school and finishing it well and then someone else swoops in and takes all the credit? Come on. Be honest. It feels good to be seen.

If anyone deserves to be recognized, moms do. But, at times, no one is more invisible. No one notices that the dishes got done or the mess got cleaned up or the clothes got washed. Sometimes I hear my wife saying to the kids, “Do you think there’s a laundry fairy that just comes into your room and takes care of all this?” A mom can become just a pair of hands to fix something. A set of eyes to look for something missing. A driver’s license to take you somewhere.

If you’ve ever felt that way, you know what it’s like to be unseen. There’s a young woman in our text that certainly felt this way. She essentially was valued as having a body that could produce a child. That’s it.

I. Hagar was a victim of Cultural Pressure.

A. We would all say that she’s been treated unfairly

She’s an Egyptian far away from home. She serves Abram and Sarai, but they’re not her actual family.

And to top it all off, she is treated as simply a fertile womb capable of producing offspring.

You talk about feeling unseen.

B. This whole mess is the result of Cultural Pressure.

The pagan societies all around Abram and Sarai practiced polygamy. When Sarai couldn’t have children, they said, “Everyone else has more than one wife. Maybe it could work for us!”

But God never condoned that. From the beginning God said one man, one woman, for life.

But poor Hagar is put in a position in which Cultural Pressure is dictating what happens to her.

Now, I understand that Hagar is not completely innocent. She despised Sarai and she put herself at risk by running away.

But she did not choose to be in this situation.

C. Vs. 7 – Hagar flees into the wilderness and stops at a spring.

While she’s there the Angel of the Lord comes to her. This appears to be an OT manifestation of Jesus Christ.

Hagar understood this was God talking to her, because she calls Him God down in vs. 13.

But He comes asking questions: “Whence camest thou?” (Where’d you come from?) and “Whither wilt thou go?” (Where are you going?).

D. Vs. 8 – It’s interesting that Hagar only answers the second question.

She says, “I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.” But she can’t answer “Where are you going?” because she has no idea.

I find that very interesting. She knew what she didn’t want, but she didn’t know where she was going.

She was angry and confused. The culture’s way had left her feeling all alone.

E. The culture will tell you it’s an expert in motherhood and will say things like:

“Children are expendable”

“Don’t let children deter your career”

“Mothers who stay at home and raise their children are settling”

“Only have children if it doesn’t interfere with what you wan. Your happiness matters most”

“If you have children, don’t have too many. It’s too financially binding”

“If you have children, be their friend rather than an authority or you’ll drive them away”

“Don’t discipline them or tell them “No” or give them too many rules, or you’ll destroy their self-esteem”

F. The culture has plenty of ideas about motherhood.

But if this passage teaches us anything, it’s that the culture’s approach to motherhood isn’t the answer.

This story shows us what happens when we take our cues from the culture.

G. There’s a lot of Selfishness.

Abram was selfish and he bypassed God’s plan.

Sarai was selfish by blaming Abram and then Hagar. But she came up with the idea!

Hagar was selfish because she had a condescending spirit towards Sarai after she found out she was pregnant.

Then she ran away into the wilderness and puts her and her child at risk.

This is the inherent problem with the culture’s idea of motherhood. It’s very self-focused.

“What about me? I don’t want to be inconvenienced. I don’t want my plans to be messed up.”

F. The culture’s way isn’t as good as it seems. In fact, it puts us at risk.

Hagar ends up in the desert, pregnant, with no food or shelter. She feels misunderstood and insignificant.

That’s what happens when you leave God out you’re your plans. You end up in the wilderness.

But thankfully, God wasn’t through with Hagar. Look at Vs. 9-12.

God essentially makes a covenant with Hagar. And it is dependent on one thing:

II. Hagar had to be willing to submit to the correct process (Vs. 9).

The way of the culture is Selfishness. The way of God’s process is Submission.

That’s the difference between the two philosophies. Cultural Pressure is about Selfishness. But God’s Correct Process is about Submission.

A. It’s easier to be selfish than submissive.

You don’t have to train a child to be selfish. They just are. You have to train a child to be submissive to mom and dad.

Selfishness is natural. Submission is hard.

But in order for God to bless Hagar, she had to be willing to submit to the process.

She had to humble herself. She had to return to authorities that were less than perfect.

Submission to the correct process is less fun than being selfish.

BUT submission to the process was required for God’s blessings.

B. Vs. 10 – God says, “I WILL”

When God says, “I will,” it means that’s what He wants to see happen. It’s His will.

He will what? “Multiply thy seed exceedingly.”

Multiply exceedingly - That’s a lot of blessings. And here’s the truth:

Submission to God’s process enables His abundant help through the process.

It’s His will to bless and help you, mom. But you must first willingly submit to His process.

C. And here’s where we get to the core of today’s truth.

Motherhood faces a continuous conflict between our way and God’s way.

Culture says, “It’s all about you. It’s what you want. It’s on your terms.”

So when Abram and Sarai turned parenting into a matter of selfishness, no wonder Hagar split. She was selfish because that was the example set for her.

But God’s plan for motherhood is dependent on Submission to His process.

God’s blessing in raising children is dependent on whether or not we’re willing to submit to the Correct Process.

If a mother takes her cues from culture, it won’t be blessed. But if a mother denies self and embraces submission to the Lord, He promises to bless it.

Do you want children that grow up blessed? Do you want children that grow up and love God? The best way to ensure that is to submit to God’s process.

D. God’s message to Hagar was:

“Even when it’s hard. Even though you’d rather do something else. And even if it doesn’t qualify as that which is most convenient, I will bless the process.”

What feels best is to embrace self. What is best is to embrace submission.

Self leaves no room for God in the process. Submission ensures God’s blessings in the process.

God said, “Hagar, I know it’s hard. I know you don’t feel like it. I know you don’t want to humble yourself. And even though this isn’t a situation I would have chosen for you, I can bless your parenting if you will submit to my process.”

III. So what does this look like?

A. Submitting to the process means we place ourselves under the direction of God’s Word, not our culture and not our own thoughts and tendencies.

The Bible has many guiding principles for parents:

Proverbs 22:6“Train up a child in the way he should go: And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Deuteronomy 6 teaches parents that they are responsible for teaching their children God’s Word and for their moral training.

Proverbs is full of exhortations to engage in training and discipline for the good of that child.

We must submit ourselves to the process in spite of what the culture says and in spite of what we feel.

For most moms the difficulty is not knowing the principles. The challenge is submitting to those principles and trusting that God’s way will produce what is best for our children in the end.

B. Moms:

Your days are long and sometimes the nights are longer.

You don’t get much sleep, but you’re still expected to do what moms do. And you won’t feel seen. There are no trophies for cleaning up the things you’ve cleaned up

There are no awards for doing the dishes again.

You don’t get mileage reimbursement when you drive the kids all over the city.

On top of that, you won’t see any immediate results.

So you spend your days disciplining, potty training, cleaning up the same room multiple times a day, working on a child’s bad habit, and no one acknowledges it.

You might even have an Ishmael (Vs. 12). Ishmael moms deserve the biggest trophies.

So the progress is slow. You don’t get rewarded for it. And the culture says, “There are more important things than raising kids.”

C. Or maybe you think, “It’ll get better when they’re older.”

The schedule may ease, but the weight and complexity increases.

You trade the inconvenience of potty training for the weight of managing things like social media and technology and peer pressure or a rebellious spirit.

You’re always going to feel over your head. The culture will never tell you the right thing. But there is a way to secure God’s blessings - Submit to God’s process.

When the days are long. When the answers aren’t clear. When it doesn’t seem to be working. If you will do what you know long enough God promises His blessings.

Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

You may not think God notices, but He does.

IV. God Sees You (Vs. 13-14)

A. Hagar gives God a name EL (God) ROI. It means the “God who sees me.”

Here’s Hagar in the wilderness, throat dry, feeling like it’s all over. No one seemed to care. No one seemed to notice. And yet this mother who had been burned by the culture and felt overwhelmed cried out to God and He saw her.

The Lord was aware of Hagar’s situation. He knew how hard the culture was on her. He knew what she was feeling.

He saw her. In fact, He covenanted with her. Which means that mothers raising children under His process is very important to God.

B. Moms, I hope you see the parallel.

God loves mothers. In your toughest moments He hasn’t forgotten you.

When you need sleep, He sees. When a teenager’s heart is hardened, He’s aware. When you feel over your head, He cares.

And He doesn’t say, “Call the culture.” He doesn’t say, “Do what is easiest.” No, He says, “Lay aside self and submit to my process. That’s how you secure my blessings.”

If you will simply do what the process demands, God will continue to see you. And the world may never notice, but God promises multiplied blessings to the mother who trusts Him enough to be content with His plan.

It may seem like the product will never come. That’s not our concern. Our concern is to simply be content with the process and allow God to take care of the final product. Teach and train them in God’s Word. Discipline them in a loving and biblical manner. Make God’s house a priority. And watch God bless.

V. This isn’t only for moms: Every disciple is called to set self aside and submit to a process.

A. We’re all asked to live for something bigger than ourselves.

We’re asked to do it in the face of a hostile culture.

We’re asked to follow in spite of how we feel.

In God’s kingdom, that’s everybody’s call.

And before you think that’s unfair, submitting to a process is true in all walks of life.

Applications:

Driving - What would driving be like if there were no traffic laws or if no one obeyed any of them? Chaos. Submit to the process and avoid it.

Job - What would it be like if you told your boss you don’t have to do anything he or she says? How long would you last? Not long. But if you submit to the process you get rewarded.

Family - We all have roles we submit to. Husbands submit to Christ’s example to love wives like Christ loved the church. That’s not easy, but it’s our calling.

Children submit to parents and obey what they say. How would a family function if the four year old was in charge?

We’re all called to say, “NO” to Self and yes to Submission. Why? So God’s process can do its work.

B. And before you think you’re the only one, remember that Jesus prayed and wept and said, “Father, if it be thy will, let this cup pass from me.”

In other words, His human side didn’t look forward to the cross. But He submitted to His Father’s process and what is the product? Salvation.

We all benefit from that submission.

Every family will benefit from submission to God’s process for raising children.

We don’t have to create the product. We are called to submit to the process.

Conclusion: The next time the process feels long, remember it is those who submit to it that God sees and blesses.

Will it always be easy? No.

Will it always turn out exactly like you think it should? No.

But does God promise to bless if submit to His process? Yes.

You may not feel like God sees.

The culture may say He doesn’t.

But He does. And one day He will reward your faithfulness with His blessings. He sees you, mom. So just submit to His process and let Him bless the product.