Thriving in the Wilderness…

“So the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, scoffing. Therefore she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son; for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, namely with Isaac.” And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham’s sight because of his son. But God said to Abraham, “Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman. Whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac your seed shall be called. Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, “Let me not see the death of the boy.” So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him with your hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink. So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.” https://bible.com/bible/114/gen.21.8-20.NKJV

This story is one of the stories in the Bible that is hard to digest.
No matter what angle I look from, I think Abraham and Sarah did Hagar dirty. Still, I’ve realized on studying this story that the movement of God’s hand is not based on emotions or on what we think is just. It is based on his word. God promised Abraham his seed would be prosperous, he blessed Ishmael because Ishmael was Abraham’s seed. Period.
Whose seed are you?

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” https://bible.com/bible/114/jhn.1.12-13.NKJV

When God is determined to keep his word, circumstances or the look of things, are inconsequential. They just don’t matter.
In those days, a boy and a woman needed the protection of a house—A man. Abraham, who was supposed to be their protector, sent them away with just a pail of water and some bread. They had no shelter, no inheritance, no servants to watch over them. And yet, they thrived! In the wilderness, God opened their eyes to wells of water. Are you in a wilderness season? Did someone who you were depending on for support and protection—someone whose job is to protect you— disappoint you? Did they send you willing into the wilderness?
Whose seed are you? Whose promises are you depending on. God or man?
Don’t fret if all seems lost. God is the God who sees you. He is just, he is love. Don’t concern yourself with their punishment, with righting injustice. Focus on the rock eternal. He will meet all your needs. He will bless you in the wilderness more than if you had been in the garden.
Trust in God, he will not fail you. He will care for you always. Be rest assured in him.

“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work,” says God. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them. “So you’ll go out in joy, you’ll be led into a whole and complete life. The mountains and hills will lead the parade, bursting with song. All the trees of the forest will join the procession, exuberant with applause. No more thistles, but giant sequoias, no more thornbushes, but stately pines— Monuments to me, to God, living and lasting evidence of God.”https://bible.com/bible/97/isa.55.8-13.MSG

“Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.”
‭‭https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.26.4.NIV