Give to Gain: Hagar the Unseen Woman.
Lasya preached this message at Word of Grace on March 15th, 2026.
Seen, Heard, and Held: The Story of Hagar
We are in a series exploring women from the Bible, and today we turn to a surprising and often overlooked figure—Hagar.
She has been called many things: a problem, a mistake, a consequence of poor decisions. Her story is wrapped in pain, rejection, and injustice. A slave. A foreigner. A woman used and discarded. And yet, hers is one of the most powerful encounters with God in all of Scripture.
Hagar becomes the first person—not just the first woman—to whom the Angel of the Lord appears.
Her story unfolds in three defining stages: The Crisis, The Contempt, and The Crossroad.
- The Crisis
Hagar enters the biblical narrative in the middle of a deeply human struggle—a crisis of faith, infertility, and moral compromise.
Sarai, unable to bear children, turns to a culturally accepted but spiritually misguided solution. Instead of trusting God’s promise, she leans on human reasoning. She gives Hagar, her servant, to Abram in an attempt to produce the promised child.
This wasn’t just a decision—it was a reflection of misplaced trust.
Sarai knew about God, but in that moment, she didn’t trust His nature.
How often do we do the same?
When life feels delayed or uncertain, we’re tempted to look for quick solutions:
- Overworking
- Endless scrolling
- Emotional escapes
- Seeking validation from the wrong places
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God’s inspired Word for life. We are a church community with people from every part of India and the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.