God's Perfect Timing in an Impatient World

Introduction

Nick Vujicic (Voichich) was born in 1982 with tetra-amelia syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. His parents, devout Christians, struggled to understand why God would allow their child to be born this way. Nick himself faced incredible challenges growing up, dealing with depression and feeling like his life had no purpose.

Emeka Nnaka: Nigerian Immigrant who playing for the semi-pro football team Oklahoma Thunder made a tackle that gave him a neck injury which left him paralyzed for life.

Joni Eareckson Tada who was left paralyzed after a diving accident in high-school.

All of them dealt with this reality of things were not the way they wanted them to be. Tragedy had befallen all of them. Some of their own doing and one who had no choice in the matter.

All of them would come to faith and would pray that God would intervene and bring normalcy back to their lives. But day after day, year after year, nothing changed. It seemed like God wasn't answering their prayers.

However, as time went on, they began to realize that God had a different plan for his life. Instead of giving the answer to their prayers, God started to use them to be the answer of prayers to others, using their conditions to touch lives in ways they never imagined. Nick learned to embrace his unique situation and became a motivational speaker, author, and evangelist, reaching millions of people worldwide with a message of hope and faith.

Today, Nick travels the globe, sharing his story and inspiring others to trust God even in the most challenging circumstances. He often says, "If God doesn't give you a miracle, you are a miracle of God for someone else."

Emeka also is a life-coach, motivational speaker, and hope advocate. He began to see himself as a piece of coal that survived great amounts of pressure to become a diamond, he says today, “I am that diamond.”

Joni is also a lecturer, hope advocate, author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community”.

Joni talks about praying to God to get the use of her arms and legs back… but that it took more faith to believe that God could use her in this current condition than if she had use of all of her limbs.

I think about the countless lives that God has touched because of Joni’s condition. Not that God caused it, but was able to further His purposes in spite of it.

Countless lives have been touched in disability camps, wheel-chair distributions, needless to say of those moved and touched by her testimony and faith in the Lord.

Nick often talks about on trusting God's plan: "I don't need arms and legs, I just need Him. God's strength is made perfect in our weakness."

Regarding patience and perseverance: "The challenges in our lives are there to strengthen our convictions. They are not there to run us over."

Nick would say a powerful testimony about his transformation: "The victory is not when I succeed, but the victory is when I don't give up. I've tried to commit suicide once. I was 10 years old and I didn't know that God had a plan for my life. Today, I'm so thankful that God didn't answer my prayer to give me arms and legs. I'm so thankful that God didn't answer my prayer to die. Instead, He has answered my prayer to use me as I am. God's love is so real that He created you to prove it."

God's plans often unfold in unexpected ways, and how our impatience or limited understanding can lead us to doubt or try to force outcomes.

If you have your Bibles or on your devices, you can turn to Genesis 16. If you are willing and able would you stand with me as I read God’s word this morning… this is the word of the Lord… let us pray… amen… you may be seated.

Desperation, Decision, and Disarray

vss 1-5

It’s been 10 years since Abram and Sarai moved into the new neighborhood after relocating from Ur.

They have been seeking God through out this journey since we have followed them from chapter 12. God has delivered him from the Egyptians, from the Kings of the East, and has established a covenant/contract with Abram. God put Himself as the guarantor of this covenant. A promise to bless, descendants as numerous as the stars, make him a great nation, all the families of the Earth blessed through him.

One pivotal thing is missing. No kids. This is a fairly large obstacle. Honestly I can’t imagine the difficulty that this might have been. I’ve had friends who haven’t been able to have their own children, it’s a hard and difficult road.

In the ancient near East where there is no government subsidies or programs for the elderly. There is no social security. There is no welfare. There are no convalescent homes to be had. If you did not have kids, you did not survive. On a darker note… If you had multiple families that were in your care and they had many children, while you had none, it would not be difficult for them to take your things and subjugate you to their desires… if not just all out leave you for dead in the wilderness.

I think it is real and plausible that Sarai was distressed (Abram too).

Sarah’s initial comment (v.2) is again about taking matters into her hands… we see here again where the intent is trying to fix a perceived problem. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this.

Sarai’s act of giving Hagar to Abraham is presented in a way parallel to Eve giving the fruit to Adam and by thus connecting the two indicates the negative nature of Sarai’s act:

So Sarai, Abram’s wife, took (vattiqqah) her maid, Hagar the Egyptian—after Abram had dwelt in the land of Canaan ten years—and gave (vattitten) her to her husband (ishah) Abram as a concubine. (Gen 16:3)

When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took (wattiqqah) of its fruit and ate. She also gave (wattitten) some to her husband (ishah), and he ate. (Gen 3:6) Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; pp. 210–211). Zondervan.

You can do the research on your own, it was very common and written in many of the local and national laws that if a wife could not produce a child, the slave or handmaiden of the wife could produce a child and the man and woman would take it as their own. But that wasn’t what God told them in chapter before… it’s from you Abram, and you Sarai that an offspring will be given.

“Faith is not easy. It calls for a persistence which is against common sense. It calls for believing in a gift from God which none of the present data can substantiate.” Brueggemann, W. (1982). Genesis (p. 152). John Knox Press.

It is important to observe that in chapter 16 Abram and Sarai believe they are hurdling an obstacle, when in reality they are creating an additional one. Walton, J. H. (2001). Genesis (p. 454). Zondervan. What we will see is the mercy, kindness, goodness, and faithfulness of God on full display; that God still not only removes the obstacles but turns what was an obstacle into a further fulfillment of the promise.

Paul has transformed Hagar-Ishmael into a sign of the law that is excessively imaginative (Gal. 4). Yet Paul has seen correctly that even in the Ishmael story itself, Hagar and Ishmael function as an alternative to the promise. They are visible evidence that in the short run, initiative can be taken from God and things will seem to be better, when in actuality they are not. Brueggemann, W. (1982). Genesis (p. 152). John Knox Press.

Sarai’s plan works. Hagar then despises Sarai, having been able to do what Sarai could not do, with very much the possibility of the potential to assume Sarai’s role as Abram’s wife. She can produce and Sarai can’t. Worth and value were very much tied up into the ability to produce children… it was often a matter of survival.

Sarai gets upset because Hagar sees herself as superior and is treating Sarai as smaller, insignificant, and even cursed. Sarai gets angry and speaks to quite possibly where Abram has betrayed Sarai. It’s possible that Abram is excited that Hagar has conceived that he shows her excessive attention and favor, almost neglecting Sarai, feeding into Hagar’s dismissal and despising of Sarai. Sarai seems to believe that Abram has encouraged this behavior.

Abram then backs off after being confronted by Sarai, and allows Sarai to deal harshly with Hagar. Church this is all sorts of broken and dysfunctional.

Each of the three characters displays the untruth that is part of sin, in false pride (4), false blame (5), false neutrality (6); but Sarai’s mask soon slipped (6b), to show the hatred behind the talk of justice. Kidner, D. (1967). Genesis: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 1, p. 137). InterVarsity Press.

Each of the three characters are walking by sight, not by faith. It creates pain, broken relationships, and a pride that creates division and an apathy that is unwilling to do what is necessary to make it right.

Desert, Distress, and Divine Intervention

vss 6-14

Hagar is treated horribly so she leaves. Heads back home towards Egypt. We find her in what is thought about to be 10days into her journey coming near the Northern most part of the territory of Egypt on the Sinai peninsula.

An angel of the Lord meets her.

There are thoughts where some believe this is a preincarnate appearance of Christ (God the Son) and then some who believe that this is the Triune God Himself.

The argument for the preincarnate appearance of Christ (Christophenes) is because of John 6:46 “No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.” and Exodus 33:20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”” . So some have thought it must be God the Son before He puts on flesh and dwells among us as Jesus.

The argument for God Himself (the Triune God; Theophoenes) is Hagar says, “You are the God who sees me. I have now seen the One who sees me.”; The fact is that God appears to humans all the time, but never directly in the full force of his glory. He appears in a flaming torch in a smoking firepot (Gen 15), in a burning bush (Exod 3), and as an angel in the passages under consideration. God appears in these forms to communicate his presence, but not his full presence, which would certainly overwhelm those who would experience his power and majesty. Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; p. 216). Zondervan.

Another important point is that whenever it is a messenger, an angelic being, and they are worshiped as God, they stop the person who is worshiping them and saying, no don’t worship me.

This is not a deal breaker either way you read it. It’s not complicated, but what we do see is God sees here and the Angel of YHWH comes and meets her.

God meeting her is significant and important for many reasons. A few being this:

Hagar is outside the family line. She’s Egyptian. She’s a pagan who grew up believing and knowing a polytheistic (many gods) culture. But God sees her, reveals Himself to her, and blesses her. Hears her cry and knows her situation. God’s heart has always been and will always be for all people; John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The gentleness in which God engages her is beautiful and telling. Genesis 16:8 “And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.” I want to remind us of Exodus 34:6–7 “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.””

Hagar was wrapped up in a faulty plan to achieve His promise, which He is responsible for, but yet God still actively is going to use this child to further His purpose and promise to Abram. A father of many nations, descendants as numerous as the stars, etc.

The Lord meets Hagar and notice her response. Genesis 16:13-14. It is powerful for a couple reasons:

We have God being named for the first time in scripture.

We also see how her words map onto Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-56. Specifically Luke 1:46-48 “And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.”

The angel of the Lord then tells her to return and submit to Sarai. This command is not necessarily a requirement to go back to an abusive relationship. Since the abuse was because Hagar lorded it over Sarai, the hope was that the former’s submission to the latter would also alleviate the abuse. But even further her return would be rewarded with a blessing that she (like Sarai) would have innumerable descendants. Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; p. 212). Zondervan.

Her child is to be named Ishmael… God who hears. This is another reminder of God hearing, seeing, and meeting Hagar in this moment.

God is ever present, in the moment. He hears, He sees, and He is near. It might be difficult for us in the present moment or circumstance, but what we know that we know is that God is near, He hears, and He is present. Sometimes the ‘why’ question isn’t answered immeadeatley, or maybe even at all, but over and over we see Him accomplishing His purposes (which are good).

“wild donkey”: He will be like a wild donkey, not easy to control and dangerous. Since dangerous, others (including the descendants of his future brother Isaac) will try to control him. He will be in a constant state of hostility with others. Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; p. 212). Zondervan.

Restoration, Obedience, Fulfillment

Hagar gave birth and Abram honored the word of the Lord to Hagar.

Are Abraham’s sentiments misplaced? Were those thirteen years wasted? Was Ishmael a “mistake”? The answer is a resounding “No” on all three counts. Even though sometimes what we see as solutions turn out to be only more obstacles for God to deal with, that does not mean that God … is ashamed of the paths we seek out (granting we’re seeking Him in the process) or that we should start feeling regrets for wasted time. With God there are no dead ends, only training grounds. Walton, J. H. (2001). Genesis (p. 470). Zondervan.

Thus, Sarai begins to “mistreat” Hagar. We are not told the details or the extent of this mistreatment, but we can be sure that it has made life so difficult that the pregnant Hagar runs away.

Who can blame her? Who wouldn’t run away from such unpleasantness? Isn’t that our first response to trouble—to run away?

What is mystifying, though, is God’s reaction. “Go back to your mistress and submit to her” (v. 9). Really? Is that fair? Doesn’t God want us to enjoy ourselves? He certainly does not want us to persist in a difficult situation, does he? Well, apparently he does want Hagar to go back and submit to her mistress. His instruction though comes with an incentive. She will give birth to Abram’s son, and though he is not the promised son, her descendants will become numerous and powerful. God asks Hagar to endure in a hard situation for his purposes, but also to bless her and her future son.

We have to be careful here. Sometimes we should leave a difficult situation. Indeed, in a later story we will see that God wants Hagar and Ishmael to leave (see Gen 21), but for now God wants her to stay. The point is that a hard situation is not in and of itself an excuse to leave. Sometimes we are called to endure.

Take marriage for instance. I would tell any woman or man who was the object of physical abuse to leave the relationship immediately and seek help from the police and from the church. I am not saying that reconciliation is impossible; nothing is impossible with God, but the work toward reconciliation in such a case can only take place after separation and with help of others.

However, I have observed and counseled in situations where a husband or wife has left a marriage because the relationship has become too much work. One man I know left his wife when she got terminal cancer; another because his wife struggled with anxiety. On too many occasions the marriages of friends and family have broken up because the passion of the relationship had diminished.

Also sad is the destruction of a friendship because the friend just isn’t fun anymore. A person is more work “than they are worth.” When it comes to work relationships, it is more understandable why someone might leave one job for another because the work or the relationships at work have become difficult. That said, one must wonder at someone who leaves a job and a steady income for no alternative job and no money to pay for bills because they just don’t enjoy it.

Every situation must be treated differently, but just because something is difficult isn’t in and of itself a reason to leave. Again, sometimes we are called to endure. Longman, T., III. (2016). Genesis (T. Longman III, Ed.; pp. 212–213). Zondervan.

Conclusion

As we conclude our journey through Genesis 16, we're reminded of a profound truth: God's ways are higher than our ways, and His timing is perfect. The story of Abram, Sarai, and Hagar teaches us that even when we face seemingly insurmountable obstacles or when our attempts to solve problems create new ones, God remains faithful. He sees us in our distress, hears our cries, and intervenes with compassion and purpose. Just as He met Hagar in the desert and turned her despair into hope, God meets us in our darkest moments. He calls us to trust Him, even when the path ahead is unclear or difficult. Remember, the God who has given us everything of Himself in Christ Jesus will not withhold any good thing from those who walk uprightly. So, let us learn to trust the process, to endure with faith, and to rest in the assurance that our God is working all things together for good, even when we can't see it. In your trials and tribulations, in your moments of doubt and despair, cling to this truth: The God who sees you is faithful to fulfill His promises in His perfect timing.