Originally posted: 01/20/2019

…and there he called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God, (21:33).

Did you find yourselves asking questions, and even troubled, while reading Genesis 21? I sure did! The gamut of emotions and events in this chapter is expansive!

A sweeping overview reveals the following: birth, laughter, joy, celebration, strife, stress, derision, ridicule, dysfunctional blended family, separation, confusion, loneliness, despair, impending death, the promise of a new nation (ultimately a chief enemy of Abraham’s descendants), marriage, the undisputed evidence of God’s favor, a clash over ownership, a covenant between two nations, planting, worshiping, sojourning.

Genesis 21 is all over the place! Sounds like life, doesn’t it? But did you see the LORD? In the beginning, the middle, the end? He is there; He is always there, He is the Everlasting God.

• He is there in the beginning; the Everlasting God taking note of Sarah, fulfilling His promise at His appointed time, (21:2).
• He is there in the middle; when life hurts, when questions have no answers. In the midst of the confusion and despair, the Everlasting God provides counsel and comfort, opens eyes to see and ears to hear, (21:15-19).
• He is there in the end; He is the One called upon for He is the LORD, the Everlasting God, Eternal, Unchanging. He alone is worthy of worship, (21:33)

Consider Him, the Everlasting God, as revealed in His Word

1. In the beginning God… (Genesis 1:1).
2. The eternal God is a dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; (Deuteronomy 33:27).
3. For such is God, our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death, (Psalm 48:14).
4. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable, (Isaiah 40:28).
5. Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting, (Psalm 106:1).
6. The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness,” (Jeremiah 31:3).
7. “For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,” says the Lord who has compassion on you, (Isaiah 54:10).
8. Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven, (Psalm 119:89).
9. “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life,” (John 5:24).
10. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever, (Hebrews 13:8).

How can we respond to Him, the Everlasting God?

1. When we feel life is pointless, remember from the beginning, the Everlasting God created us for a purpose; to know Him and make Him known! (Genesis 1:1)
2. When we are lonely or scared, remember our home is in His Everlasting arms of hope and security. (Deuteronomy 33:27)
3. When we don’t know what to do, remember the Everlasting God does! (Psalm 48:14)
4. When we are tired, remember the Everlasting God never is! (Isaiah 40:28)
5. When we feel negative, remember He is good. Choose praise; for His lovingkindness is Everlasting. (Psalm 106:1)
6. When we feel unloved, remember the Everlasting God loves us and drew us to Himself, from eternity past and into eternity future… oh His Everlasting love never fails! (Jeremiah 31:3)
7. When we feel shaky and in need of peace, remember the Everlasting God is steady and will never be shaken. (Isaiah 54:10)
8. When we doubt, remember the Word of the Everlasting God is settled! (Psalm 119:89)
9. When we feel undeserving, remember salvation is an Everlasting gift; we only have to believe! (John 5:24)
10. When life seems out of control, remember He is NOT, for He is the Everlasting God, “the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

May we never cease to seek Him, the Everlasting God, each and every day, as revealed in His Word.

Let’s Grow Together!