Abraham’s Story: Shortcut to Faith

Genesis 16

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Today, we’ll begin with a question: Do you ever get tired of waiting on God? Maybe it concerns a job, recovery from an illness, a relationship, or a prodigal child coming home. It’s not for lack of prayer. You’ve spent plenty of time crying out to God, yet still no visible action has taken place, and there has been no definitive answer. 

If you’re weary of waiting, you’re not alone. Many of us in our Living Grounded community feel the same way. Today, we will consider a couple who grew so weary of waiting that they decided it wasn’t worth it. This account offers us an instructive example of the consequences of taking matters into our own hands. 

Abram and Sarai knew God’s promise (Gen. 12:1-3) and had proof of his covenant (Gen. 15). God said a great nation with countless descendants would come from their union. Abram was eighty-five years old, and Sarai was seventy-five. It seemed physically impossible for them to have children, so Sarai devised a plan. She had an Egyptian servant named Hagar and told Abram, “The Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her” (Gen. 16:1-2). Abram agreed to Sarai’s proposal. 

This arrangement was legal under the customs of the day. Hagar would become Abram’s pilgash, meaning “wife of secondary standing.” The plan worked, or so it seemed. However, when Hagar learned she was pregnant, her attitude changed. She “looked with contempt” on Sarai (Gen. 16:4). Hagar felt blessed while Sarai remained barren; therefore, why should she remain the pilgash now that she was carrying Abram’s child? The tension between Sarai and Hagar was palpable and toxic. 

The adverse situation led Sarai to blame Abram, not for the pregnancy but for the strife that had entered their home. She felt Abram had enabled Hagar’s attitude. Sarai told Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! . . . May the Lord judge between you and me!” (Gen. 16:5). In today’s language, Sarai said, “This is all your fault, and God will get you for this.” This was not Abram’s finest moment. He was as passive in his response as he had been in complying with the plan in the first place. He said, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please” (Gen. 16:6). So, Sarai “dealt harshly with” Hagar.  

When we take matters into our own hands, things always become messy, and our hearts grow calloused. Sin leads us to blame others and treat people harshly. It also makes us indifferent to the truth. Although Hagar was carrying Abram’s child and, by law, was his “wife of secondary standing,” Abram demoted her back to Sarai’s servant. 

We don’t know exactly what Sarai said or did to Hagar, but we see that Hagar felt threatened enough to run away. Abram and Sarai washed their hands of the whole ordeal—the plan, the encounter, and the pregnancy. However, God did not. 

We learned earlier that God is the Pursuer. He pursued Hagar and found her “by a spring of water in the wilderness” (Gen. 16:7). Here is their conversation: “[God] said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.’ The angel of the Lord[1] said to her, ‘Return to your mistress and submit to her’” (Gen. 16:8-9). 

Returning would not be easy, but God promised to protect Hagar. He also told her she would have a son named “Ishmael,” meaning “God hears.” Ishmael would be a “wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him” (Gen. 16:12). Later in Genesis, we learn that his descendants became a great nation (Gen. 25:12-18). 

Hagar called the “name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me’” (Gen. 16:13). Hagar’s name for God, “You are a God of seeing,” is El-Roi in Hebrew. God is the God who sees us. He never takes his eye off us. Hagar felt alone, forgotten, rejected, and invisible, but not to God. He is the one who pursues us, sees us, and guides our next step. 

Let me end with five crucial lessons from this story.  

1. Trust God to work in his own way and on his own timeline. Waiting on God is always worth it.  
   
   
2. Consistent obedience requires fresh faith. Abram’s faith faltered in Genesis 16, even after God confirmed his covenant with him in Genesis 15. We can’t live on yesterday’s obedience. Daily obedience is key. 
   
   
3. The decisions we make today matter for tomorrow. Abram and Sarai’s refusal to wait on God created immediate tension that echoed through the lives of their descendants.  
   
   
4. God’s name remains El-Roi. You are not forgotten, rejected, or invisible in his eyes. He sees you, pursues you, and “looks after [you]” (Gen. 16:13), as he provides next steps.
   
   
5. God’s covenant with his people is unconditional. God worked despite Abram and Sarai’s disobedience, and he continues to work with broken people today. 

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Reading and reflection: Genesis 16.  Where are you currently tempted to take a shortcut instead of waiting on God’s timing? What does trusting God look like in this season, even if nothing changes immediately?

Talking to God: Ask God to give you the patience to wait on him even when you feel like charging ahead.  

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SAVE THE DATE: Bible Immersion trip to Israel: November 4-14, 2026.

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One more thing: Don’t miss the Weekend Recharge. Today’s passage contains the first mention of “the angel of the Lord.” I will discuss who I believe this refers to in Saturday’s Recharge. On Sunday, I will share a mnemonic tool to help us remember the big picture of the Old Testament.