Driven Away

God seeks what has been driven away. Ecclesiastes 3:15

Hagar was driven away from her home (see Genesis 16). Her name, Hagar, carries the root in both Hebrew and Arabic that means to flee. For Christians, Muslims, and Jews, she has become a symbol of fleeing. Some might call her the mother of refugees.

The God Who Seeks Those Driven Away pursued Hagar in the desert. Alone with her child, destitute, she believed death was imminent.

How astonished she must have been to hear the voice of the Seeker, seeking her out, speaking wonderful words of hope and a future.

Hagar, a bondwoman to God’s chosen family, was given the high privilege of naming God. She was the first person to give Him a new name. She was a woman in a time when the voices of women were largely silent.

You are the God Who Sees Me! she cried.

God still seeks those who are driven out. He sees them and He draws near with wonderful words of hope and a future. #hope #refugees #insteadofshamehonor Click To Tweet

Sometimes I take up the headlines for a prayer guide. (You can find a helpful guide to do this here.)

There are many across our world being driven away today.

 

Afghanistan

Cancel Culture

Haitian Refugees

Canary Islands/volcano

LGBTQ+

Wives

Husbands

Children

Outcasts

The heart of shame is to be driven away.

Shame robs one’s position of belonging. Shame is being Outside. Away. Cast off. Sent out. Rejected.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the exact opposite. 

God seeks the outcast, the rejected, the ones driven away. He chases them with burning love that loved before we ever loved Him back. Before we even cared if He existed. Before you and I were born.

We have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13

We do not have to remain outsiders; rather we are made part of God’s family through faith in Christ Jesus.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. Galatians 3:26

If you have been driven away, God is seeking you today. He loves you with a love that drives Him to chase and pursue you to the ends of the earth. No pit is too deep, no circumstance too vile for God to come near to you and extend His arm of rescue. Listen! Can you hear His voice calling you in the chaos? Answer Him today. Put your trust in Jesus, the One who gives honor instead of shame. Jesus died to secure your honor and mine, our position of belonging in God’s family forever.

If you are in a place of belonging today, part of God’s family, God desires to use you to seek the ones driven away.

Prayer is the gateway to purpose.

Take up the headlines today, identify those in our communities and the world who have been driven away. Bring them before the throne of heaven and intercede for them. Pray that God leads them to places of refuge where they will find Him. Pray for believers who will share the good news of the Gospel with them. Ask God to open your eyes to any who are driven out in your own community, social media networks, or cities. Ask God for the courage to draw near to the outcasts, leaving your comfort, your reputation, behind.

Forced away frightened

I heard of a God who seeks

Is He seeking me?

-Audrey Frank

(This poem is a prayer using the Japanese haiku format. If you would like to write your own haiku prayer, download a free guide and template here.)

The good news of the Gospel is that God seeks what has been driven away. #hope #honorandshame #insteadofshamehonor Click To Tweet

Who might need this life-saving word today?

Lord, thank You for being a God who seeks us. Amen.

@audreycfrank

 

Resources:

Mission Network News https://www.mnnonline.org

Prayercast https://www.prayercast.com

Write your own haiku to express your sorrow over those who are driven out: https://poets.org/glossary/haiku