August 27, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Abraham fell facedown. He laughed and said to himself, ‘Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety? If only Ishmael might live under Your blessing!” Then God said, ‘Yes,’ and continued, ‘but your wife Sarah will bear you a son. You will call him Isaac. I will establish My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.‘” (Genesis 17.17-20)

REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We are bolstered by the power of these verses today which confirm that God “hears/listens.” There are many words in Hebrew to express that concept and as used as names and titles for people of God reflecting that particular truth “God hears/listens.” The least of which is not Ishmael which means “God heard” as Hagar cried out in the wilderness for direction and protection. There are other names such as Elishama, Samuel, Azael, Eliana and Zara which speak to God hearing the prayers of his people and responded (which transforms “hearing” in “listening.”) God heard Abraham and his request for Ishmael to also be under the covenant relationship of God. He was not opposed to having a son born of Sarah. While it would seem impossible to him as he explained, is there “nothing too difficult for God.” (Jeremiah 32.17) It certainly stretches our imagination at times when we know what God has promised, specifically His grace and mercy to effect our salvation when our works and words seem to fail to change our current situation. Isn’t this the story of God throughout scripture? What Abraham did not want to happen when his son would be born of Sarah was that Ishmael would be cast out and apart. He was born of his seed and raised in his tent. He would lead him in the paths of righteousness with training in life and in the word based on all his experiences up to this point when Ishmael was now thirteen years of age. It was a turning point not a repentance (a turning around and going in a different direction). It was a transition moment not a dismissal for Abraham. Abraham wanted to be true to his word to God, Sarah, Hagar and Ishmael. It was no different than his desire to be faithful to God and Lot and rescuing him from a despot king as well as the vileness of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham loved! Abraham was responsible. He was perfect, and who among us is! But he was a man of God. God heard and listened!

God said “Yes” to Abraham and his request. We know the words of God concerning Ishmael to his mother Hagar in the wilderness. (Genesis 16.9-12) He would be a wild donkey of a man whose would live in contention with his brothers. His descendants would be too numerous to count. Yet, the promise of a global salvation would not come from him. He, like all others, would have to conform and be transformed into honoring God above all else and all others in order to receive and be blessed with eternal life and peace. God reaffirmed that pledge made to Hagar and to Abraham with His “YES….but….” God’s word was, is and will always be His word. Abraham’s decision to fulfill the covenant on his own terms (or that of Sarai’s actually) had caused him to forget what God had said and meant. When God declared His promise to Abram with “you will be blessed to be a blessing,” it was a covenant made between Abram and Sarai. While He did not speak it directly to Sarai (any more than He spoke it directly to Eve but to her through Adam), when He spoke it to Abram, “the two had become as one” even though they did not yet have children. God speaks His covenant in terms of community and not simply to individuals. There is always a connected to the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in Heaven. When God speaks truth to one there will be implications that others are included. We see that in all of Jesus’ acts of healing. They are on an individual basis with a broader ramification to family, friends and the community-at-large.

God hears and listens. He speaks to one to speak to many. Mighty ones of God, it is no different to us. We may believe we are praying just for ourselves but God is listening for a purpose that empowers us to minister to the greater circle of influence and confluence of lives to which we are attached or may cross. The question then is not if God is listening but are we?

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness endeavor, but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.