Tagged: Genesis 16

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the highways of Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs. Psalm 84:5-6 In our last devotional together we examined the cost of spring-making. Psalm 84 prepares the pilgrim for two realities on the Way: the reality of weeping, and the reality of refreshing. [bctt tweet="Jesus paid the cost of spring-making, and because of that, we can walk the Valley of Baca with hope. With the strength Jesus gives, we can also practice the discipline of spring naming. #hope " username="audreycfrank"] Spring naming transforms the pilgrim pathway, making it a place of refreshment for us and a resource for those who come behind. The discipline… Read More

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… Read More

During the month of June, I will be writing a series of devotionals based on my upcoming book, Covered Glory: The Face of Honor and Shame in the Muslim World, published by Harvest House Publishers August 2019. You have searched me, Lord, and you know me (Psalm 139:1). “I know God sees me. Can you help me?”  Jameelah sat before me, her brilliant blue scarf pulled aside to reveal a face the image of a broken mirror, fragmented and distorted by a ragged purple ridge. Full lips and once-perfect cheekbones bore the scars of cruelty and jealous hatred.  Her beauty and purity had been social insurance for her family in a culture where daughters brought handsome reward and security. But she had refused the much… Read More