Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Christ’s Presence with the
Outcast
Marina Alexander
St. Andrews MTC, Yonkers, NY
“…You are the God who sees me.” ( 13)
Hagar felt unappreciated and
harassed so she chose to run away, the route a lot of people choose when they
are presented with a difficult situation. Hagar was not aware of her future and
inner strength and so God decided to send one of his angels to her and knock
some sense into her. In today’s day and age, mental illnesses such as
depression and anxiety are high. Almost all of us are on a quest to find our
niche, a place where we belong and feel wanted. Almost every single one of us
have gone or is going through that “I am all alone in the world,” “no one
understands me”, etc. phase/period. Like with Hagar, God follows (or chases) us
and tries to give us the strength to pull through and face our challenges He
laid out before us. God sees us in a way that no one else does.
Everyone
has a purpose in life but in order to see it and find satisfaction, we have to
stick with it and have faith with perseverance, we will see what God
has in store for us. This means trusting that God does have a plan
and that it is taking place now. Abram
and Sarai did not have the patience for God's plan to materialize.
They took matters into their own hands because they felt that God
had forgotten about them and the promise. But God had to
intervene to make something fruitful out of that as well. We often forget
to ask for God’s input or look for the signs as to what to do next. We act
impulsively based on our wants or other people’s wants or advice.
Be
patient and have faith in God. However that does not mean we
are saying, “Okay God, do your thing,” while we sit there and do
nothing. We need to learn about this world that God created and
think about how we can do our part while being involved and experimenting with
different aspects of life and seeing where God feels we are needed most and are
most apt for.
PRAYER
God, help us to appreciate You more; to be patient
with Your plan; to realize the timing that You are waiting for. Help us
to become more aware of the world around us, not just our own world. Help us to
become aware of the struggles around us. Amen.