Bible Verses About Hope in Hard Times: Lessons from Hagar

Life is filled with highs and lows, ups and downs. It can seem that some people experience more than their fair share of lows. The Bible has stories about these people and how they held onto hope even after despair. One such person is Hagar.

The Story of Hagar

God had promised Abraham a child, a descendant through which a great nation would be built. Sarah laughs at the idea as she is past her childbearing years. Hagar is the slave of Sarah and the means by which Sarah attempted to bring about God’s promise to Abraham.

[Hagar] conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. Then [Sarah] said to [Abraham], “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my slave to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” But [Abraham] said to [Sarah], “Your slave is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she ran away from her.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And the angel of the Lord said to her,

“Now you have conceived and shall bear a son;
you shall call him Ishmael,
for the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

So she named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi,” for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” – Genesis 16:4-7, 11, 13 NIV

Hagar gets a rough deal, forced into pregnancy, dealing with a harsh mistress. In this ancient world, she has no rights, freedoms, or protection. In her fear, she flees her mistress. This is when something genuinely marvelous occurs. Hagar receives a promise from God separate from the promise to Abraham and Sarah. Hagar is promised a hopeful future, even in a miserable situation.

But Hagar’s story does not end there. No, it continues as she returns to her captivity, gives birth to Ishmael, and finds herself embroiled in new troubles. Sarah gives birth to Isaac, the baby promised to her, and conflict arises between the half-brothers.

The elder is the son of a slave, and the younger is the son of the wife, with many attached blessings and promises. Eventually, the conflict becomes untenable, and Abraham decides to send Hagar and her son far away, providing few resources to survive a harsh wilderness.

When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. – Genesis 21:15-19, NIV

Once again, the Lord, who saw her distress once, sees her again. He provides for her when Abraham would not and sets her on a path to fulfilling the promise that he made her. In her hard times, hope is once again given by God.

Lessons of Hope From Hagar’s Story

Hope requires patience While God did provide for the immediate needs of Hagar and Ishmael, the long-term promise required waiting in an uncomfortable situation. The adage, “Good things come to those who wait,” is apparent in this story.

How many times did Hagar review the promise in her head after long days of dealing with Sarah’s abuse? Note: If you are in an abusive situation, you should seek a safe way out.

Hope requires vision When in despair, it can be easy to miss crucial facts. Hagar was in such despair that she could not see the well within reach. Sometimes, you need an outside source to point out facts. Sometimes you need to sit yourself down and make a list of the facts and the feelings of your hard situation.

Example:

• Fact: Hagar ran out of water in the wilderness.
• Feeling: She could not bear to watch her son die.
• Fact: There was a well nearby.

When your own feelings are drowning out the facts, you may miss how your hard times can be improved.

Hope requires faith The two terms are similar, but they are not identical. Faith is tied to belief, things you believe about God, his work, and your life. Faith looks at the big picture of God and the world and turns it into actions.

Hope is more specific to your situation. You hope things will improve, and you do what you can to move toward that. Hope acknowledges that the actions and choices of other people are not something you have any control over.

Hope requires support No man is an island; we all require assistance in this life. Sometimes, that assistance comes in angelic form; other times, it comes from the people who know us best and love us well. If you don’t tell people that you are having a hard time, they cannot provide any assistance. If you do not go to God in your heartache and sorrow, finding comfort from spiritual sources will be harder.

It is hard to tell from the story if Hagar felt she could go to Abraham for support. In a fair and just society, he should and could have protected her and Ishmael from cruelty. We only know that he sent her away with some provisions. Ultimately, that was the best thing for them, but nobody knew that for sure at the beginning.

Going Through Your Hard Times

Holding onto hope in hard times is not easy. It will ebb and flow; you will need to remind yourself of the reason you are holding onto hope. There are some practical things that you can do to hold on to hope.

Practice separating facts from feelings You can make lists or talk them out with someone, but sorting through your facts and feelings can help you overcome feelings of anxiety, stress, and despair.

Build your support system One example is when trusted friends show up when you are struggling. You can schedule regular appointments with a therapist, counselor, or life coach so that you have someone to talk to about the hard stuff.

Maintain spiritual practices There are many ways to pray to God, scripted and unscripted, written and spoken, with others, and by yourself. Being faithful in prayer can help you maintain hope in hard times.

Read the Bible stories about the people holding onto hope in hard times. You could read Genesis repeatedly, finding new nuggets in the characters. While Sarah comes across poorly in Hagar’s story, Sarah had to deal with a lot of difficult things and needed to have hope in hard times.

Keep your eyes open To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, if you look for the bad expecting to find it, you surely will. The opposite is also true, so if you are looking for good things, for signs of hope, you are more likely to see them. By paying attention to your life, you can see the good even amid hard times.

If you are going through a hard season and want to talk to a counselor, call our offices today to schedule an appointment.