Anchors - The Anchor That Formed Me

I'm excited to see today, man, today we're going to just worship God, that's all we have, thank God for the joy that he gives us, let's worship today, come on. I'm excited to see today, man, today we're going to just worship God, that's all we have, thank God for the joy that he gives us, let's worship today, come on. I'm excited to see today, man, today we're going to just worship God, that's all we have, thank God for the joy that he gives us, let's worship today, come on. I'm excited to see today, man, today we're going to just worship God, that's all we have, thank God for the joy that he gives us, let's worship today, come on. I'm excited to see today, man, today we're going to just worship God, that's all we have, thank God for the joy that he gives us, let's worship today, come on. Come on, it's our prayer. Come on. Come on church, we believe God gives joy. We thank you for your joy today, church. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. We thank you for your joy. Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh Alright, thank you Jesus Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh And I pray into the atmosphere Spirit of God, You're here You have all authority And I pray over my heart and mind And I am healed by Your stripes Your blood declares that I am free In the mighty name of Jesus

I pray, calling all the power of heaven I proclaim, and every weapon formed against me Must break, in the mighty name of Jesus I draw a permanent boundary line The enemy has no right to come near my family And no scheme could ever undo God's plans No matter the circumstance The cross has sealed my destiny In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, calling all the power of heaven I proclaim, and every weapon formed against me Must break, in the mighty name of Jesus In the mighty name of Jesus I know, all the power of fear and darkness It must go, cause every key to every victory I hold, it's in the mighty name of Jesus And I will not fear, I will not fear When the enemy comes near On the doorframe of my life Is the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear There's an army of angels here I'm protected on all sides By the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear When the enemy comes near On the doorframe of my life Is the blood of Jesus Christ I will not fear, I will not fear There's an army of angels here

I'm protected on all sides By the blood of Jesus Christ In the mighty name of Jesus I pray, calling all the power of heaven I proclaim, and every weapon formed against me Oh it must break, it's in the mighty name of Jesus It's in the mighty name of Jesus Oh I know, all the power of fear and darkness Oh it must go, cause every king to every victory Oh I know, it's in the mighty name of Jesus It's in the mighty name of Jesus It's in the mighty name of Jesus It's in the mighty name of Jesus And who thought I'd find you at the lowest place? And who thought you'd feel me in the crowd? Who knew you'd make good my mistakes? He's nothing like I thought he was. He's better. What a God, what a God. Yes, what a God, what a God. Oh, what a God, what a God. Oh, with who he is, what a God, what a God. Come on. Yes. And I thought you were sure for perfection. Because what kind of God looks for the lost? And they say it's over for a sinner. Oh, you say, no, it's not, no, it's not. You say, no, it's not, no, it's not. What a God, what a God.

What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. What a God, what a God. Yes. It's only you, Jesus. Oh, He's a good, good God. The God I've never known. All I ever need. Oh, He's good. If the highest place I reach is at your feet, then I've done it all. If the best thing that I've seen is your glory, then I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied, God, you are my everything. If the highest place I reach is at your feet, then I've done it all. If the best thing that I've seen is your glory, then I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied, God, you are my everything. If one word is the only thing you speak, then I've heard it all. If I feel your heart and never see your hand, I still have it all. No treasure of this life could ever satisfy, God, you are my everything. God, you are my everything. God, you are my everything.

What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. What a God. If the highest place I reach is at your feet, then I've done it all. If the best thing that I've seen is your glory, then I've seen it all. Your love has changed my life. Forever satisfied, God, you are my everything. If one word is the only thing you speak, then I've heard it all. If I feel your heart and never see your hand, I still have it all. No treasure of this life could ever satisfy, God, you are my everything. God, you are my everything. God, you are my everything. If the highest place I reach is at your feet, ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ Oh Jesus, these aren't just words ♪ ♪ It's praise, His prophecy, Jesus ♪ Declare this over your life this morning. You should sing that one more time. ♪ If I fill your heart and never see your hair ♪ ♪ Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied God ♪

♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ If the one word is the only thing He speaks ♪ ♪ Then I'd give it all, if I fill your heart and never see your hair ♪ ♪ I still have it all, Your love has changed my life, forever satisfied God ♪ ♪ You are my everything ♪ ♪ My, my everything, Jesus, You are great ♪ Lord, we thank You that You are through it all, God, that You see us, You see all of us, every part of us, God, nothing is hidden from You, Lord, and yet You love us the same, yet You love us unconditionally, God. How amazing is that, that You're such a loving God, Lord, that You see us, flaws and all, everything, all of our perfections and imperfections, the great things and the things that we struggle with or wanting to fix about us, Lord, You see all of it. And You hold us in Your hands, God, and You look at us and say, how beautiful, how perfect are You? I thank You, God, that each and every one of us here, whether we know who You are, God, I thank You that everyone here belongs in Your kingdom. God, that You know us, You love us, and You have all called us into Your family, Your kingdom, Lord. Man, so amazing, Jesus. We thank You for salvation. We thank You for victory. We thank You for freedom. We thank You for all the things

that we can call on Your name for, Lord, and You will provide, You're the deliverer, the healer, the almighty God, Jesus. And there might be some of us here today that we maybe are going up to a crossroads. Maybe we are ending a certain season of life or going into a new season. Maybe there's questions, there's things, there's uncertainties, whatever it may be, God, I pray, Lord, today that we would bring our hearts and our cares to You. We'd lay them at Your feet, and we would trust in the goodness of You, that You are with us through it all. That You are with us through it all, God, and we thank You that You're revealing things to us, Lord, even today, even this morning. Whether it's just affirming that Your love is real, God, there's other things You're revealing to us, Lord, we thank You for that, amen? We thank You, You're such a good God. Yeah, well, we can applaud the Lord today, it's good. He's worthy of our praise, amen? Man, so good. And I don't know about you, but like, there's a lot of things that God is doing all the time. It's hard to keep up, but a lot of times we can forget too. How easy, man, just to forget that He's moving, He's working in everyone. So my prayer today for us, all of us,

is that we would have the eyes that Jesus has, the ears that God has, to be able to see the things that He sees. Because a lot of times it just, it can seem dark. And then you can tune into God's presence and kind of see this like new dimension of where God's working, the spiritual warfare, the things that are happening, God is moving all around us. And so I hope you don't feel alone today, I hope you feel encouraged that God is with us. As we go into this time of communion, we do this every week, and it's really, it's just a symbol, right? It's just a symbol, the juice, the cracker, of the work that Jesus did on the cross, His blood that was shed, His body that was broken so that we could have new life, new freedom. But the Bible encourages us to do this, to remember that we are in communion with Him and fellowship with Him, that we're welcomed at the table, we're welcomed at His table. So let's go into this time of communion and just embrace that. for all that it is. Jesus, we thank you. Thank you that you're working with us, through us, that you invite us to be in the presence of you. We thank you that you're here right now.

May you continue to just minister to us in this place during this time and during the message. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Hey, Pantano. I'm Patsy. We're so glad you're here. At Pantano, we believe life is better when it's lived together. That's why we're committed to creating a place where everyone can find community, experience hope, and grow in their relationship with Jesus. If you're on campus today, stop by Next Steps after service and say hello. We'd love to meet you, answer any questions, and help you discover your next step at Pantano. Joining us online? You're an important part of our church family, too. Take a moment to fill out a Connect card through Next Steps so that we can get to know you and help you stay connected to everything happening here. So many people today are facing challenges, like anxiety, depression, abuse, body image struggles, and more. As parents, grandparents, coaches, teachers, mentors, and trusted adults, we want to help,

but sometimes we need support and resources, too. Together and with God, we can bring hope and healing to those who need it most. Join us next month for our Stronger Together Mental Health Forum. Reserve your spot today by visiting Next Steps. At Pantano, our mission is loving people to Jesus and launching passionate difference-makers. Your generosity makes that mission possible. Because of your giving, people experience the love of Jesus in real, tangible ways. Lives are changed, and people are equipped and sent out to make a difference in their communities and around the world. If you feel led to give, you can drop your gift in a giving box, give online through our website, or text GIVE to 46356. Thank you for being a church that doesn't just hear the mission, but lives it. We're grateful for each of you. Don't miss what's happening at Pantano during the week. Follow us on social media for encouragement, event updates, ministry highlights, and ways to stay connected with our church family. Thanks again for joining us. We're excited to lean into today's message. Pantano Church, how we doing? All right. I am so excited to be with you today.

As you know, we have people tuning in from all over the country, all over the globe, but I want to give a very special shout out to our campuses, Pantano Benson, Gospel Rescue Mission, and of course, the guys at the Santa Rita unit. We love you. We're so grateful that you're part of the Pantano family. Last week we started a brand new series called Anchors. Soil kicked us off, he did an incredible job. So if you missed last week, I wanna encourage you to go back, watch that message. I believe that God will speak to your heart. And today we're gonna continue this series and I love this idea of anchors. Because if you know anything about climbing, you know that this little anchor is everything. This anchor is actually what holds your weight. It's what keeps you from falling. This anchor is what gives you the confidence to keep climbing even when you're scared. So an anchor has to be strong, it has to be solid and reliable because when you are literally hanging off the side of a wall, you find out very quickly whether what you're connected to can actually hold you. Now I need you to know something about me. I'm actually a little bit afraid of heights. Actually, I'm afraid of all the scary things. Heights, roller coasters, the dentist, you know what I'm saying. Anything that makes me feel like I am out of control.

And several years ago we lived in Reno, Nevada and downtown they were revitalizing the downtown area. And I remember driving on the main strip every day to get to work and I noticed that they were building this brand new hotel, it was called the Whitney Peak Hotel. But as I drove by and looked up at it every day, I would notice they were doing something interesting. They were actually building a climbing wall on the outside of this hotel, several stories high. It is the world's largest outdoor climbing wall. And I remember driving by and thinking, wow, that is amazing, who would ever do that? And then one day I got to work and my boss said, hey, I have a great idea for team bonding. Our next team outing, we're gonna go climb the Whitney Peak Hotel. And I remember in that moment, I have no idea why I responded this way, but my stomach just dropped. I'm not sure if it's because my default is always to say yes, right? I'm always down for a good time. Or maybe if it's I legitimately thought I'd get fired if I said no. But in that moment when my boss suggested this, I just said, that sounds great. Let's do it. And I remember the day came and I was on that platform and I was standing there and I was so nervous. I could feel my heart beating in my throat. I was like, I don't know how I'm gonna do this.

As I started climbing, I was certain that the people on the ground could see my legs shaking. I was like a wet noodle up there. And I remember just thinking that I bet that they can see it. They can see the terror even from there, even several stories down. But it was pretty cool. As I started to climb that day, it was actually really surreal. I could look out and I could see the entire city of Reno. And I remember hanging off the side of this wall and thinking, wow, this is incredible. And then my next thought was, so this is how I die. I hope my family knows I love them. I actually wish I had some pictures to show you, but I don't because the person belaying me, I needed her to stay focused. Two hands on the ropes. And I certainly wasn't letting go of that wall to take any pictures. But it was an incredible experience. But now, looking back, what I realize is that the only way I could do this was if I trusted the anchor. If I trusted that I wouldn't fall. Because that's what an anchor does. An anchor gives you something solid to hold onto when everything feels scary and uncertain. I love that scripture uses this exact metaphor.

Hebrews 619 says, this hope we have in Christ is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. I love that wording, an anchor for our souls, because the writer of Hebrews understood something that we all understand as well. Life can feel unstable. There are seasons where everything feels uncertain. Because relationships shift. Dreams disappoint, anxiety rises, loss happens, and things don't go according to plan. And in those moments, just like Silo talked about last week, what you're anchored to matters. What you're anchored to matters. And everybody has an anchor. Everybody is tied to something for stability. The question is, can it actually hold you when life starts to crumble? So in your life, I'm curious, what keeps you steady, grounded, secure? What do you hold onto when fear starts climbing and control starts slipping? For me, what has anchored me over and over again in my life is the character of God. It is an understanding of who God is. Because at the end of the day, I need to know that the one holding my life together is trustworthy. I need to know that he is faithful, that he is good, that he is kind, that he is not panicked by the things that panic me.

Because if my soul is going to be anchored to something, I actually wanna anchor to someone. Someone who can actually hold the weight of my life. So the question is then, who is this God that we worship? Who is this God that we serve? Who is this God that we are inviting you to trust with your life? What is he actually like? And is he someone that can give you the security that you need? Is he someone that you can actually trust? And how do we get to know God's character? I believe the best way to get to know who God is is through his word, by reading scripture, by spending time with him. And so I wanna show you through one of my favorite stories in scripture, who God is. A story that reveals the character of God in such a powerful but unexpected way. Now as a side note, I've been really wanting to preach out of the Old Testament lately. Because there is some fun stuff in there. We preach a lot out of the New Testament, and understandably so, because as Christ followers, our whole goal is to be more like Jesus. But do not sleep on the Old Testament. It gets wild. In fact, are there any reality television show fans? Some of you are embarrassed to admit it? That's okay.

I know you're out there. Now the Old Testament is a little bit like reality television. Family drama, betrayal, tension, bad decisions, redemptive arcs, the Old Testament has all of it. And today's story has every bit of that. It is messy and complicated. It's emotional and deeply human. But underneath all the dysfunction is a beautiful picture of who God is. We're gonna camp out in Genesis 16, but before we read it, I wanna give you a little context, because there are a few important characters in this story, and it can get a little confusing. There's Abraham and Sarah, and they are married, but at this point in the story, they're still called Abram and Sarai. Same people, different names. God loves changing people's names in Scripture, so don't let that confuse you. And then there's Hagar. Hagar is an Egyptian slave belonging to Sarai. And honestly, Hagar is one of the most overlooked people in Scripture. But what God does in her story is incredible. Now here's the backdrop. For years, God has been promising Abram and Sarai that they would have a son. And so Genesis 12 through 15 is basically this ongoing conversation between God and Abram,

where God keeps saying, I'm gonna make you into a great nation. Your descendants will outnumber the stars. There's just one problem. Abraham is 75 years old. Now, I am not 75, but I will tell you, having a baby is a young man's game. And so there's this conversation between God and Abraham, and God says, I'm gonna bless you. You're gonna have so many, essentially, children. And Abraham responds. He says, that doesn't make sense. God, I'm old. How is this even possible? But over and over and over again, God just says, trust me. Just trust me. And amazingly, Abram does. Genesis 15, six says, Abram believed the Lord and he could. credited to him as righteousness. So Abram becomes known as a man of incredible faith. But if we fast forward to Genesis 16, we start to see a problem. Abram is now 85 and his wife is 75. And God made his promise that they would have a child incredibly clear, but it has been 10 long years. And it still hasn't happened. So that's the backdrop for this story that's about to unfold. 10 long years they've been waiting for this promise.

And Genesis 16 shows us what happens when waiting gets painful. When disappointment lingers, when God seems slow. And when people start to take control instead of trusting God. And honestly, that's where a lot of us live too. We want to take matters into our own hands. And Abraham and Sarah, they certainly did that. And that's why this story starts to unravel quickly. Because Sarah is tired of waiting on God. That's the tension. It is difficult to wait on God. Have you ever felt that? It's hard to wait on God. The promise feels delayed. The pain feels personal. And fear starts pushing her to take control. So here's what happens in Genesis 16. It says, but she had an Egyptian slave. She is Sarai. She had an Egyptian slave named Hagar. So she said to Abraham, the Lord has kept me from having children. Go sleep with my slave. Perhaps I can build a family through her. So what we see now is this promise has been delayed. So Sarai starts blaming God. And then she hatches this plan. And now here's a moment for Abraham to respond and say, let's just have faith.

Let's trust God. He said he would come through. So what does he say? Not that. It just simply says Abraham agreed to what Sarai said. Nobody twisted his arm. It's all in. So verse three. It says, so after Abraham had been living in Canaan 10 years, Sarai, his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abraham, you are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms. And now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me. So Sarai started blaming God. Now she's blaming Abraham. And again, Abraham has a moment to say, let's just trust God. Let's wait on God. What does he say? Verse six, your slave is in your hands. Do with her whatever you think best. Abraham's literally like, no thanks, not interested. He was super involved a minute ago, but now he's like, not my circus, not my monkeys.

No thank you, figure it out. And then Sarai says mistreated Hagar so she fled from her. So Sarai takes matters into her own hands and gives Hagar, her Egyptian slave, to Abraham. Now all kidding aside, let's be honest. This story is deeply broken. Hagar has no voice, no power, and no choice. She is used and then blamed and then mistreated. And Abraham doesn't exactly come out looking righteous here either. And so what started out as trying to help God turns into pain and jealousy and dysfunction and abuse. Because that's what happens when fear starts driving our decisions instead of trust. And eventually things become so unbearable that Hagar runs away into the desert, pregnant, alone, and afraid. And this is where the story gets really interesting. Verse seven, it says the angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert. I love that wording, that the angel found Hagar. She wasn't searching for God, God came searching for her. An abused, forgotten, pregnant, Egyptian slave woman, someone society considered completely disposable is pursued by the God of the universe. And what's fascinating is that this is the first recorded angelic encounter in scripture. And in fact, many scholars believe that it was Jesus himself who appeared to Hagar. Isn't that incredible?

That God could have. have appeared to kings, to rulers, to powerful people, but instead he reveals himself to a suffering slave woman in the desert. She went on the run and God pursued her. Now that alone tells you something significant about the heart of God. And then the angel asks her, verse nine, where have you come from and where are you going? Isn't that interesting that God asks questions he already knows the answer to? He knows exactly why Hagar is alone in the desert. But sometimes God asks questions not because he needs information, but because he wants a relationship. And I believe that God is inviting Hagar into a conversation, into an encounter with him. And so now there's this conversation in scripture between God and Hagar and we just get to witness it. Here's what the angel says to Hagar in verse 11. He says, you are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael, which means God hears, for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. And after this encounter, Hagar responds in verse 13, she says, you are the God who sees me. I have now seen the one who sees me. What an incredible moment that we're witnessing where God reminds Hagar that he is the God who hears and then Hagar is actually the first person in scripture to actually name God and what does she name God?

The God who sees. God wants Hagar to know more than anything else that she is not invisible to him. And so we're getting this picture early in scripture, the very first book, the book of Genesis, of who God is, of his character when he pursues this Egyptian slave woman, a picture of the compassionate heart of God, that he is the God who hears, that he is the God who sees. Maybe that's what some people in this room, some people watching online need to be reminded of today. Because maybe life handed you pain you didn't choose. Maybe someone else's decisions have wounded you deeply. Or maybe you feel forgotten, overlooked, or abandoned. And I wanna remind you that the same God who pursued Hagar still pursues people today, that he is still the God who sees, he is still the God who hears, he is still the God who meets people in deserts. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. And here's what I want you to know today, that there is value in being seen by the God of the universe.

God sees your suffering. He has not forgotten you, he has not abandoned you. That's the heart of the gospel, that God loves you, that God is with you. And that matters because suffering, the kind of suffering that Hagar experienced, the kind of suffering that so many of us will experience in our lives has a way of making us question the character of God. If he is really a God that we can anchor our lives to, if he is safe and secure and trustworthy, when prayers go unanswered, when life feels unfair, when the promise takes longer than we expected, and when we find ourselves in a wilderness we didn't choose. That's why I wanted to focus today on who God is, on his character. Because it's one thing to know what we believe about ourselves, it's another thing entirely to understand the character of the God that we worship. That we don't pray to a distant God, we don't serve a detached God. He is not indifferent to pain or absent in suffering. So my question for you today is what are the areas in your life where you feel forgotten? Where you feel abandoned by God? Here's what I want to remind you of today. Silent doesn't mean absent. And unanswered doesn't mean unheard. He is the God who hears. He is the God who sees.

And that truth becomes the greatest anchor when life feels unanswered, unheard, unheard, unheard, unheard, unheard. Unstable. About six years ago, my sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer, a story that I know is familiar for many of us. But at the time, we were so grateful to God. They found it early. In fact, it was stage zero. And they were able to remove the tumor and she had radiation at the time, but the prognosis was good. And we were so thankful for God's hand in that process and in her life. My sister-in-law is just a little bit older than me. Her and my brother have two young girls. And about five years later, she started experiencing some unexplainable symptoms. She had so much physical pain that she could barely walk. And at the time, we had no idea what was going on. But if you know anything about cancer, you know that five-year mark is pretty significant. And after a full battery of tests, what they discovered was that the cancer had returned and it had spread throughout her body and into her bones. It was literally breaking her bones. It was stage four now and it's incurable. She's undergoing treatment and she's doing okay, but apart from a miracle of God, apart from God's intervention,

she will live with this for the rest of her life. And I have been praying for a miracle every day. I've been asking God to heal her, but without that, their lives are changed forever. And it has been devastating to watch the way that it has impacted them, that it has impacted our family, to watch this journey that we've been on. And I don't love talking about this story very much because the truth is I can't wrap it up in a neat little bowl. There's really no resolution, not yet. There's really no resolution, not yet. And I'd love to tell you that everything makes sense, that I understand what God is doing or why God is doing it, but the truth is I'm not there yet. There are still moments where I feel confused, where I feel angry, moments where I wonder what God is doing, why he doesn't heal her, because it feels so unfair. And moments where I feel disappointed and frustrated. And maybe that's where some of you are, too, where it feels like you are standing in a desert where you have felt forgotten. But even there, you know what I keep coming back to? The character of God. The character of God. To this truth that he is still the God who sees. That even in my anger, you know what I know for certain? That he doesn't look away.

And so isn't that exactly what we see in Hagar's story? That there's no neat ending here. The truth is that Hagar is still in the desert. Her circumstances are still painful. In fact, if you read this entire account, the angel actually sends Hagar back to her abusive master. The future is still uncertain. But everything changes for Hagar when she encounters the presence of God. It's not because her circumstances change, it's when she meets God and is reminded of who he is. And standing there in the wilderness, she names him the God who sees me. What an incredible reminder of the heart of God. That the God of the universe would pursue a forgotten, suffering slave woman in the desert just to make sure she knows. I see you. I hear you. I have not abandoned you. And church, he is still that same God today. For Hagar. For me. For you. He's the God who hears. He's the God who sees. And he is still worthy of our trust, even in the waiting. He hears your prayers. He sees your suffering. He has not abandoned you.

And church, I'm convinced that the greatest anchor in this life is an understanding of the character and heart of God. And this is it. This is who he is. I don't know your story. Maybe for you, it's a diagnosis as well. Or it's grief, a broken relationship, a child who feels far away. Or maybe your life just feels overwhelmed by addiction and abuse and disappointment. I know this, though. Sometimes life leaves us standing in a desert we never would have chosen. And in those moments, it's so easy to wonder, God, where are you? Have you forgotten me? Do you love me? Do you even hear me? But the story of Hagar reminds us that God meets people in deserts. He meets the broken, the abandoned, the overlooked, and the hurting. And maybe that's why you're here today. Maybe that's why you're tuning in online, because maybe God wants to remind you of who he is today. That he is still the God who sees. That he is still the God who hears. That he is still the God who pursues people in the wilderness.

And that is a God worth anchoring your life to. Thank you. Thank you. Not your circumstances, but who he is. That is a God that we can trust. That is a God who can hold the weight of your life. And so if today you're here, you're joining us online, and you feel forgotten, abandoned, overwhelmed, or weary, I believe that God is pursuing you today. That he's chasing after you. And that he wants to remind you of who he is today. And that he wants to remind you of who he is. Just like Hagar encountered God, I am praying today that you would encounter God as well. And that you would be reminded of who he is, of his character. And so here's what I want to do as we close today. I want to invite you to stand all across this room. And of course, those watching online. We're going to close in worship, and here's why. Because I don't know of any other way to remind ourselves when we're struggling, when we're suffering, of who God is. I think it is absolutely the best way to encounter God. Is in worship. And sometimes we just need to encourage our souls. And so today we're going to sing about the goodness of God. We're going to declare it. That he is good, even when we don't feel it.

Amen? Amen? He's a good God. But here's what else I know, is I know that sometimes when we are in a desert place, when we are in the wilderness, it is hard to know how to pray. You just don't have the words. Sometimes you just don't have the language, because you feel so lost, or so angry. And I just want you to know that we would love to pray for you today. And so up front, here in this room, and at each of our campuses, we're going to have prayer partners available. And we would love to pray with you. Whatever you're going through, we would love to join you in that. And walk with you. And I know that it's a little awkward. It's hard to hear up here. It's kind of weird to walk up front, in front of everyone. But I want to encourage you that sometimes we need to take a step of faith. And I believe that God will meet you in that step. And I believe that today, there's an opportunity to encounter the God of the universe. And so I want to invite you to come at any point during this last song, and know that we would be honored to pray with you.

God, I thank you. For who you are. I thank you for the truth. That you are good, and you are kind. God, I thank you that you are a compassionate God who pursues people in the wilderness. Who chases after those who feel lost, and alone, and forgotten, and abandoned. Today, we reaffirm, God, that you are a God that we can trust. That we want to anchor our lives. To you despite sometimes what feels like our circumstances are crumbling God. You are a good God You are solid and you can hold the weight of our lives We thank you for who you are We thank you God for your love for us in Jesus name. Amen If you feel today that God's forgotten you, I want to remind you that he has not. He is here with you today. I want you to worship him with me. And all my days, I've been held in your hands From the moment that I wake up, until I lay my head I will sing of the goodness of God And all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God I love your voice You have led me through the fire And darkest night You are close like no other I've known you as a father I've known you as a friend And I've found in the goodness of God

And all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able I will sing of the goodness of God Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Your goodness is running after, it's running after me My life laid down, I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Your goodness is running after, it's running after me Your goodness is running after, it's running after me My life laid down, I surrender now I give you everything Your goodness is running after, it's running after me And all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am able Oh I will sing of the goodness of God I'm gonna sing, I'm gonna sing Because all my life you have been faithful And all my life you have been so, so good With every breath that I am Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God. Oh, I'm gonna sing of the goodness of God. Oh, glory to God. Oh, glory to God. Amen, God is so good. So amazing to worship with all of you today. And I hope you're encouraged. I hope you're blessed.

Go out the rest of this weekend, the rest of this week feeling encouraged. God is with you. Thank you for being with us today. If you want to continue in prayer, you can come forward. You can also go to our prayer room across the courtyard. If you're new with us, welcome. We hope you feel welcome. We want to invite you to come over to Next Steps where we can greet you with more of our team members. Thanks for being here. Have a great week. God bless.