God hears and sees

 Hagar was alone in the desert when an angel appeared and promised a blessing on her child, naming him Ishmael, which means “God hears.” Hagar responded with, “You are the One who sees me,” and even gave Him a name, El Roi, which means thus. 

God is ever near and watches and hears all our prayers and cries. He sees our struggles but remembers, he has said that he will temper us as steel and refine us like silver. There will be emotionally, physically, and spiritually hot days, days of intense pressure. There will be days of intense sorrow and pain. We must pass through these experiences so that we can understand and come to God as He is attempting to come or reach out to us. Now we must also know there will be times of immense joy and gladness to match that pain because we are, that we might have joy. The rollercoaster of life has highs and lows, times of screaming fear, and laughter. Know this, God knows the length of the ride and you will not get off till it ends. You will have a great experience if you see it as thus.

God is looking for his face in the refinement that is our lives. When silver is made pure the refiner can see his face in the silver, he then knows it's ready for greater things. Wait too long and it ruins the silver, so also is removing it too soon. So are our lives in so many ways. The constant heat and tempering seem overwhelming at times. Trials long and short, spiritual and physical can overwhelm some but if we endure it well, we will be fit for the kingdom. We will have been perfected and exalted one day at a time; making us whole and complete through the Savior. 

We can endure this life. Life is like a garden, the Lord removes the rocks and puts up a fence but we then are responsible to weed and taking care of it. If we breach the fence and low bad things in our lives it is on us, not the Lord. While the Lord set up our garden or life to go one direction, He knows you and I to are gardeners and influencers in our lives. We choose some of the outcomes too. We may not choose the consequences of our actions, the weeds, brides, and thistles but we choose at times what goes in our garden like friends and lovers, the neighborhoods we live, the car we drive. In the end, it is a culmination of the two of us, the Lord and I that looks at my garden and sees what fruit and vegetables I produced, am I bitter or sweet, and I desirable or must I be cast off like dross, good for nothing because I wasted my time, talent and energy on crap, on weeds.

Hagar recognized the Lord, we should too. May we see as He sees and hear as He hears so that we can be one who lifts a button and extends a helping hand. May we be endurent for the things we cannot change and not just so but with gladness. It is a hard thing we are called to do but it is worth it, is my prayer, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.