Where You Are

By Donna Wittlif

"What ails thee, Hagar? Fear not; for God hath heard the voice of the lad where he is" (Gen. 21:17, ASV).
    Do you ever feel like God doesn't hear you? That although your heart is full of sorrow, you're not as bad off as others to whom God must attend? Or perhaps you feel that you and what you are doing are not important enough for God to care?
    Hagar felt that way. Banished from the only home she had ever known, she wandered in the wilderness until her water ran out. She may have felt like she had nothing to live for, and she might have welcomed death, except for one thing. Her young son Ishmael was a stone's throw away under a shrub. She couldn't bear to watch him die, and she had given up hope.
    But God heard her voice and the cry of Ishmael. He told an angel to tell her that Ishmael would become a great nation. He opened her eyes to see a well of water. Hagar and Ishmael lived because God took care of them. The angel said, "God heard the voice of the lad where he is."
    God hears your voice too, wherever you are. Are you in a wilderness where you can't seem to accomplish anything? Maybe in a desert where you have lost all hope? Cry to God. He knows about your troubles, and he hears your voice where you are.
    When we feel lost and alone, may we say with the Psalmist, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: From whence shall my help come? My help comes from Jehovah, Who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1, 2).

- Donna Wittlif, the founder and first editor of BulletinGold, lives in Denver, CO. Donna is also a writer of fiction. Her novels, World Eternal: Promises and World Eternal: Proselytes, and World Eternal: Perils, and Finding Her Heart, and Donna's newest book, God's Desires for You: A Biblical Guide to Salvation, are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book outlets. For more information visit her website. http://www.donnarwittlif.com/