When Questions Bombard the Heart

“Are we there yet?  Mom, How much longer?” Road trips are often interspersed with these types of questions being repeated with varying degrees of urgency, boredom or need. Young children who have not yet learned the sense of time will not understand what is taking so long. Consequently, the inevitable questions will result.

Wilderness Wanderings

Similarly, these types of phrases appear in our litany of questions that we ask God. Our life isn’t happening the way we had planned. Moreover, the plodding through our personal wilderness seems to be unending. And the monotony of life has us chafing under the restrictions that surround us. Our plaintive voice can be heard, ‘God, how much longer?’

Hagar faced circumstances that had her facing an unplanned and restrictive lifestyle, as well as an arduous journey in the wilderness.  We don’t know the beginning of Hagar’s story.  She appears in Scripture as an Egyptian slave to Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  Her story is condensed into two main incidents  summarized in Genesis 16 and 21.

Wounding relationships seemed to be the standard operating procedure in Hagar’s life. Her plans and dreams were unseen and the cries of her heart went unheard. In fact, the harsh treatment she endured sent her fleeing to the wilderness. In anguish of spirit, Hagar collapsed near a spring located near Shur.  The ‘ how long’ question, the ‘why’s’ and ‘what if’s’, flooded her heart. This wasn’t the life she had signed up for.

Have you been there?  Wondering how long this journey of heartache will last and longing to flee from it all.  Just hoping something will change and the mess of  life be altered. You may be facing relationship distress, or a frightening health diagnosis.  Or maybe it is a job loss with no other possibilities in view. Maybe your heart has been etched with grief through the loss of a loved one. Wherever you are and whatever questions have become a tangled web in your mind, God will show up.

Questions at the Oasis

God showed up for Hagar in that barren place that was marked by an oasis. It was at a specific place for a specific purpose that God came.  Yet, surprisingly God arrived with a question.  In fact, not just one query, but two inquiries.  

The sound of her name, as well as her title, startled Hagar out of the numbness of mind that had replaced the wrenching sobs that had previously racked her body.

“The angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.  And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou and wither wilt thou go?”   

Genesis 16:7

Though it was with questions and not answers that God showed up, Hagar found that God was sufficient.  As Hagar answered the queries God posed her she was able to recognize the direction her life was going.

As the conversation continued God told her to name her baby Ishmael which means God hears.  What a comfort and what a reminder it must have been the months following as Hagar nestled her babe in her arms.  This fountain in the wilderness became a life-giving oasis for her soul.

Heard and Seen by Almighty God

In our lives there are times when no one hears the cries of our heart. Questions flood our mind. Yet the answers do not come.  However, even if no one else understands, God hears the whispers of our heart.  He knows the emotions that drive us. Furthermore, God understands the grief that we walk through and the sorrow we face. In other words, God shows up.  Moreover, God hears even those things that we can’t seem to find the words to express. God is proficient in the language of the heart.

As God unfolded to Hagar the plan He had for her life, her perception of her plight changed. In spite of the mess she was in, regardless of the path that led back to servanthood and a disgruntled mistress Hagar gained the fortitude needed to return to the reality of her life. Most importantly, Hagar’s encounter with God altered her frame of mind.

Hagar was heard and seen by Almighty God.  And that made all the difference. No longer was the way too hard to traverse.  Her perception was adjusted. The timbre of her voice changed and the tenor of her life was transformed as she addressed the God who had shown up.  The One who had found her in the wilderness.

“And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me:”

Genesis 16:13

You Will be Heard

Dear friend, whether you are chafing under the monotony of life’s responsibilities or engaged in a fierce battle of mind and soul, God shows up. He hears your whispered, “how long, Lord?” Moreover, God sees you in your distressing circumstances. You may feel like a nobody, but God sees you as a somebody. Hagar had no claim to fame that enabled her to encounter God.  Instead we know that she was just a servant whose life was in shambles.  Yet God arrived and gathered Hagar close.

If you are living in the shadows, unseen and unheard, call out to the God who sees you.  Your cry will be heard.  You don’t have to have a title or even an upstanding name to be heard by God Almighty.  He comes to you just as you are.

In your hour of difficulty and distress pause and gain a fresh vision of God, hear his tender voice calling your name. Your circumstances may not necessarily change, nor your questions get answers, but God steps into your world with His Presence and promises and that makes all the difference. In the encounter you will be changed, your soul strengthened and your life placed in a proper perspective.

“In the day when I cried thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.” 

Psalm 138:3