There were a lot of things against Hagar. She was young, she was a woman, she was of an ethnic minority, she lived in a foreign land away from her family and culture, and she worked in the position of a servant or slave. And then… the people she worked for started treating her badly. Really badly.

At the point that our reading picks up (Genesis 16:7-13), Hagar has just run away. She is pregnant and alone in the desert. She couldn’t really be more vulnerable or more desperate.

Hagar cries out to God and something truly miraculous happens. She has an experience of God speaking to her. As is often the way in such situations, Hagar receives a wonderful reassurance and affirmation of God’s love for her - and a bit of a challenge. I think this is a remarkable story and some of you will know that one of my favourite charities is named after Hagar. The person that everyone else considers to be of low status, is the one that God addresses personally.

Hagar returned to her employers and made some changes to her attitude and the things she could control. And she saw God’s powerful protection and provision for her and her child. When she gave birth, she named her son ‘Ishmael’ because she knew God had heard her.