What's His Name?

Devotion for the Week.

Friends of ours shared the news that they were expecting a baby boy, but they didn't share what they planned to name him. When I saw on FB that the little guy had been born, I went around the house showing everyone the picture of baby Graham 😊 Zachary wasn't around when I did that, so he came into the kitchen later and said, "Did the Kirby's have their baby and did they name him Giovanni?" I just laughed. I mean, where did he come up with Giovanni?

Graham's dad, John, is also Zach's basketball coach and apparently the team had a running joke that the baby would be named Giovanni, which John had just played along with. In the player's group chat, John had posted "still waiting for Giovanni to arrive" and then later, "Giovanni is here." Zach still calls him Giovanni half the time, lol.

When a baby is born, one of the first questions we ask is "what is his/her name?" It's one of the most basic bits of information about any person. Parents-to-be consider names carefully, sometimes agonizing over that decision for the whole pregnancy. Paul had a name picked out for a daughter years before we ever even met...and then we had three boys, lol.

In the Bible, Hagar is the only person recorded to give God a name. Hagar was a slave to Sarai and Abram. When Sarai couldn't conceive, she gave Hagar to Abram, so Hagar would conceive a child who would then belong to Sarai. Understand, as a slave, Hagar had no say in this decision. Then, after Hagar conceives, "she began to treat her mistress, Sarai, with contempt" (Genesis 16:4), which prompted Sarai to treat "Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away" (v. 6).

Hagar meets God in the wilderness, where He tells her to return to her mistress, but He also tells her the future that is in store for the son she carries. In response, she says, "You are the God who sees me" (v. 13). Doesn't that just fit so nicely with last week's devotion? That was totally unplanned, but I do love the emphasis 😊

Even when we're in situations we would never choose or situations that are completely beyond our control, God still sees us. He knows where we are, He cares about us and He is working for our good. Romans 8:28 says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Background quilt is my Night Sky pattern in Catch and Release fabric

I don't know what situations you are facing today. None of us can know what situations we will face tomorrow. Whatever they may be, though, we can take comfort along with Hagar in the fact that He is the God who sees us.