Sunday, February 24, 2013

Hagar




Hagar

Hagar found herself in circumstances beyond her control. As the slave girl of Sarah, she bears a child for her only to find herself banished and exiled. Hagar found herself in a bad place. Her circumstances were beyond her control. She did not ask for her life to turn out as it did, nor did she go looking for trouble. Trouble found her.

How do you react to circumstances for which you cannot control? Will the Lord bring a blessing?  Have you ever experienced a time in your life when life suddenly changed for the worse? What emotions did you feel? Did you struggle and ask God, “Why me?”  Were you able to trust that He had an ultimate plan for all that was happening to you? When the conditions of your life are not favorable, when you find yourselves lost, abandoned, alone, afraid, to whom do we turn?   In every condition, in every situation, we cry out to the Lord. There are times when events are outside our control, and we do not have the power to alter the situation. When these things happen, our dependency must be upon God.  

When we are blinded by the obstacles that stand in our way, when we are tempted to lose sight of what God is doing in our lives we turn to His words and promises which speak to us. We rely not on our experiences but upon the clear words, the Lord has spoken. We place our lives into His hands trusting that He will work in our lives.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy, be gracious to all who have gone astray from Your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of Your Word through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Collect for Lent 2 Lutheran Worship © Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis

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