El Shama

And the angel of the Lord said to her,
“Behold, you are pregnant
and shall bear a son.
You shall call his name Ishmael,
because the Lord has listened to your affliction. - Genesis 16:11

Genesis 16 tells a story of despair and God’s intervention. The slave girl Hagar is fleeing mistreatment at the hand of Sarah, Abraham’s wife. An angel meets her, promises a child and instructs her to call the child Ishmael: God listens.

The last part of the verse 11, “Yahweh shama,” is also interpreted “God listens.”

Imagine a God who listens to a runaway slave girl.

The theme is repeated in the story of Hannah, longing for a child: God hears and answers her.

Psalm 17:6 says “I have called on you, for you will hear me, O God.”

I’ve found that to be true in my own life. In times of isolation, frustration, sadness, fear: I have called on God. Sometimes in dramatic ways, sometimes in quiet ways, I’ve seen evidence that I’ve been heard.

Even when it appears there is no response, I take comfort in the knowledge that our God is a God who hears us.

Whatever you’re carrying today, whatever the challenge: take time to tell it to the God who hears.

Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy…
Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.
In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. - Psalm 86: 1-8

- By Carol Kuniholm at Church of the Good Samaritan, Paoli, PA
carolkuniholm@gmail.com