The year is now half over and we are headed into the fall season. Some of us may look back over the first half of this year and say “Wow, what an incredible year it has been!” and some of us may say “Man, what a hard year this has been!” To be honest I am currently in the middle on 2024. But I do know one thing, I refuse to throw in the towel. I know what God spoke to me about 2024 and I won’t be discouraged. I am reminded of Psalm 65:11 “You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” No matter what I am encouraged that 2024 will be a year of great harvest in my life! It might be a harvest of growth and hard lessons learned but I will come out better on the other side.
If 2024 has not been what you thought it would be I want to share a piece of good news with you. You can begin, again. It’s not too late to make 2024 a year of growth and progress for your life. All of those goals or as I like to call them intentionality’s that you wrote down in January can still be resurrected and achieved. They can still be revisited and revised. You can begin, again.
As I was thinking about this I was reminded about Hagar in the bible. Hagar was an Egyptian woman, a slave to Abram’s wife Sarai. As the story goes, when Sarai was not able to conceive children she looked to Hagar to sleep with her husband to produce a family for her. But when Hagar became pregnant she began to despise Sarai. I can only imagine the tension going on in that tent! Sarai gets upset and tries to place the blame on her husband. To get the heat off of himself, Abram tells Sarai, look she’s your girl, do whatever you would like with her. So Sarai begins to mistreat Hagar and Hagar flees from her.
I am sure this is not what either Sarai or Hagar had in mind when Hagar came to live with them. This was one bad beginning.
So Hagar is on the run and the bible says in Genesis 16:7-13
7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.
9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”
11 The angel of the Lord also said to her:
“You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. 12 He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.”
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
Isn’t it amazing that Hagar was just a slave, pregnant with an illegitimate child and God still cared about her? The Bible says that the Angel of the Lord found Hagar by the spring. Even though she was considered a nobody, He still went to find her. It doesn’t matter how far away from God we may be, He cares for us. We may mess up the plan real good, but God always has a way of leading us back. No matter how far off track you may feel you have gotten this year God can still lead you back.
God tells Hagar to go back, to begin, again. And He gives her a promise that her descendants will be many, too numerous to count. Unfortunately, Ishmael, her son, was going to be a struggle. But the promise was still there. The fresh start was still available to her.
Never give up hope ladies. Never allow the enemy to come in and convince you to give up the fight. Never lay down your sword. One of my favorite names for God is El Roi, the God who sees me. And it was given to Him by an Egyptian slave girl on the run.
13 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
I love it! Hagar acknowledges God as a God who sees. He sees you, He knows all the twists and turns that this year has taken. He knows every obstacle you have faced, every hard decision. He has celebrated all your wins and has wiped your tears from the losses. Nothing we ever go through is lost with God. He is our El Roi, the God who sees me.
If this year has not gone exactly how you thought it would. If you have more L’s on the board than W’s. If you have encountered more heartache and disappointment than you bargained for. You are in good company. Think of all the years Hannah cried out for a baby and year after year was disappointed. Think of how lost Mary must have felt at the foot of the cross where her son, Jesus, was crucified. Think of Ruth who had lost everything and was headed to a land not her own. Each of these women could have given up, but they held onto the promise of God. And boy oh boy did God show up in incredible ways for them.
This is your sign that it’s time to get up, dry your tears, and begin, again.
James 5:11 “As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the LORD finally brought about. The LORD is full of compassion and mercy.”
Love you mucho! – PB
Catch the video blog on Youtube where Pastor Brittany shares about her journey with this topic.
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