promise

He is a God of promise. of redemption. of grace.
i've been reading through Genesis lately, and as every other time, it feels like the first time in so many ways.
i read about Hagar and Ishmael this morning.
it struck me: there was no obligation on any side for a blessing to be given to Ishmael. in fact, Ishmael was a result of Abram's doubt in God's promise (or more realistically, Sarai's doubt). he got impatient and took things into his own hands. and a boy was born. and then cast out. it would have been just, and fair (whatever those two words actually mean), for Ishmael to be forgotten. he wasn't the son of Abram's wife, but the son of a maidservant.
but He is the "God who sees me.. the God who hears me". this is who He was to Hagar.
not only did He spare their lives in the desert; He promised great things. to make Ishmael into a great nation. to give him descendants without number.

a similar promise to what was given to Isaac through Abraham.

aren't you glad that He thinks differently than we do?

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:8,9

redemption. promise. hope.
the God i serve i will serve faithfully. for life. with everything i have. because He is worthy.