Fear Not because of God’s Grace and Mercy
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? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. (Genesis 21:17)
Hagar’s son, Ishmael, was afraid. And even though he was not the child that God would be using to begin His people, and most especially, the Messiah, God protected Ishmael. In fact, it was an unrighteous shunning by Sarah that put Hagar and her child in danger, but it was an act of God that helped them.
We expect God to be Gracious and Merciful to His people. We humbly expect it (because of His promises) and we receive it. But here we see that God is even merciful to those not His people. That is how amazingly merciful He is!
We observe, of course, that Hagar cried out to the Lord. She turned to Him for help. But when we see that the Lord heard HER… it can comfort us. The One True God of the Universe does not just give Grace and Mercy in a nepotistic way. He IS Gracious. He IS Merciful.
So fear not.