The Peculiar Request

Hagar’s story begins quietly, almost invisibly, yet it carries profound weight. She was an Egyptian slave in the household of Abram and Sarai – a foreigner, a servant, a woman without power or voice. Her life was not her own. Her future was decided by others.

Then came the peculiar request.

Sarai, barren and weary from years of waiting on God’s promise, proposed a solution of her own making. Hagar was summoned – not consulted, not asked, but commanded to lie with her master in order to produce an heir. Scripture does not record Hagar’s consent or protest, reminding us of her position in the household. She had no autonomy. No choice. No protection.

This was not romance. It was obedience under oppression.

And yet, God saw.

Hagar Flees

Hagar conceived, and with pregnancy came a shift in her posture. Perhaps it was pride. Perhaps it was pain. Perhaps it was the first time she felt she held something of value. Whatever the reason, Scripture tells us she began to despise Sarai.

The household tension intensified. Sarai, now resentful and wounded, responded with harsh treatment. What began as a plan to “help God” turned into cruelty, jealousy, and injustice – often the fruit of human interference in divine timing.

Hagar could no longer endure it.

So she fled.

A pregnant, runaway slave in the desert. Alone, vulnerable, and afraid. No roadmap. No provision. Just exhaustion and heartbreak. She ran not knowing where she was going, only knowing she could not stay.

Many of us recognize that place.

Running from emotional pain. From unfair treatment. From environments that crush the soul. Sometimes fleeing feels like the only way to survive.

And still – God saw.

An Encounter with the LORD

In the wilderness, at a spring along the road to Shur, something extraordinary happened.

“The Angel of the LORD found Hagar.”

Not Abram.
Not Sarai.
Not anyone who held earthly authority over her.

The LORD Himself found her.

This moment changes everything.

God called her by name and acknowledged her reality: “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” He saw her past and her uncertainty. He did not minimize her pain, nor did He ignore her position.

Then He spoke promises.

He prophesied over her unborn child. He declared that her descendants would be too numerous to count. He named her son before he was born – Ishmael, meaning “God hears.”

In the midst of rejection, God affirmed her.
In the wilderness, God revealed purpose.
In her lowest moment, God spoke blessings.

Hagar, an enslaved, mistreated, foreign woman became the first person in Scripture to receive an angelic birth announcement.

And she understood something sacred.

The God Who Sees

Hagar gave God a name: El Roi – The God Who Sees Me.

This was not theological theory. This was lived experience.

She had been used.
She had been silenced.
She had been mistreated.
She had been driven away.

But she had never been unseen.

God saw the injustice.
God saw the harassment.
God saw the emotional turmoil.
God saw her fear, her confusion, and yes – even her shortcomings.

He saw it all.

And He still had a plan.

Be Encouraged

This story is for the woman who feels overlooked.
For the woman whose pain was caused by decisions she did not make.
For the woman navigating consequences that were never hers to bear.
For the woman who ran because staying felt unbearable.

Your Father in Heaven has seen it all.

He has seen the injustice.
He has seen the betrayal.
He has seen the tears cried in secret.
He has seen the strength it took just to keep going.

And He is still in control.

Hagar’s story reminds us that God’s promises are not limited by our position, our past, or our pain. He meets us in the wilderness. He speaks hope where others speak rejection. He sees when the world looks away.

Today, may you rest in this truth:
You are seen.
You are known.
You are not forgotten.

El Roi – the God who sees you – still reigns.

Scripture reference – Genesis 16: 1-16