6/21/26 God Hears the Cry of Every Child

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God Hears the Cry of Every Child

I want to start with something funny that I found on an internet site: A little girl asked her mother, “How did the human race appear?” Mother answered, “God made Adam and Eve, and they had children, and that is how all mankind was made …” Two days later, the girl asked her dad the same question. Dad answered, “Many years ago there were monkeys from which the human race evolved.”

The confused girl returned to her mother and said, “Mom, how is it possible that you told me the human race was created by God, and Dad said they developed from monkeys?” Her mother smiled and said, “Dear, it’s very simple. I told you about my side of the family, and your father told you about his!”

Happy Father’s Day! Yes, we say “Happy Father’s Day,” but for many, it is not an easy day. For some, it is a joyful reminder of a loving father. For others, it brings memories of a father who is no longer here. And for some, it awakens painful memories of absence, broken promises, or deep wounds.

I can also share personally that I experienced a broken relationship with my father for many years. He struggled deeply—weak as a son, unable as a husband, and often absent emotionally as a father due to alcoholism. As a child, I rarely saw him sober. I felt shame and confusion, especially when his behavior affected how others saw our family.

But later, I came to understand his own pain. He lost his mother at the age of six and was taught that boys should never cry. Raised under strict Confucian expectations, he carried unhealed wounds that shaped his life and, in turn, our family’s suffering.

When I was in seminary, my father came to faith in Christ. That moment became a turning point for our family—from brokenness to healing, from sorrow to joy, from distance to reconciliation. He removed the ancestral altar and declared, “We will worship God alone, no more ancestor’s worship.” From that time on, his life changed. He stopped drinking, began early morning prayer with my mother, and grew into a man of faith, even sharing his testimony in church with courage.

That’s remind me that Joshua 24:14: “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Looking back, I often wonder what would have happened if he had never come to faith. But now I believe that even in our brokenness, God was at work.

Genesis 21 reminds us that even the family of Abraham—the father of faith—was not a perfect family. There were jealousy, rejection, and heartbreak.

According to today’s scripture, Abraham struggled as well.  Waiting for God’s promise, he and Sarah took matters into their own hands, and Ishmael was born through Hagar. This decision later led to painful conflict between Sarah and Hagar, and between Isaac and Ishmael.

When Sarah saw Ishmael interacting with Isaac, she demanded, “Cast out this slave woman with her son.” Abraham was deeply distressed, for Ishmael was also his son. Yet God said to him, “Do not be distressed… I will also make a nation of him” (Genesis 21:12).

So Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness with bread and water. What did Hagar and Ishmael think of Abraham? What did Ishmael think of his father? He might have thought of him as weak and indecisive. Imagine Ishmael’s feelings: “Why am I being rejected?” “Why doesn’t my father protect me?” “Am I no longer loved?”

However, Abraham believed in God’s promise—that God would protect them and guide them in the wilderness. Yes, that is a father. Sometimes we do not understand a father’s decisions for his children. There is a time to send out, and there is a time to lift up. If a father believes in God, he knows there is a time to lift up his child.

Again, Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael out with bread and a skin of water into the wilderness. When the water in the skin was gone, Hagar said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And she lifted up her voice and wept. She knew it was a time to pray for her son. And God heard her and said, “Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast.”

The Scripture tells us something powerful: “God heard the boy crying.” (Genesis 21:17)

Notice—God heard him. Not Abraham. Not Sarah. God heard. The name Ishmael itself means “God hears.” This is the heart of the gospel: God hears the cry of the forgotten, the wounded, and the unseen.

Not every relationship is restored in this life. Some wounds remain. Some losses cannot be undone. Yet God is able to heal what human hands cannot fix. Healing often begins not with others, but with God—when we first remember that we are loved.

If you have a heartbroken child or family member, lift up your voice to God and lift them up from their dark place. There is nothing too hard for God.

The same God who heard Ishmael hears us today. One of the deepest wounds in life is a broken relationship between parent and child. Not every relationship can be fully restored. Some fathers pass away before reconciliation happens. Some wounds remain too deep. Some situations remain unsafe.

Yet God can heal hearts even when circumstances cannot be changed. Reconciliation often begins not with another person, but with God. Before we can forgive, we must know we are loved. Before we can release bitterness, we must know we are secure in God’s care. When God reminds us that we are His beloved children, the chains of anger and resentment begin to loosen.

The gospel tells us that God is not merely like a father. God is the perfect Father. Where earthly fathers fail, God remains faithful. Where earthly fathers leave, God stays. Where earthly fathers wound, God heals.

Psalm 27:10 says, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.” The greatest healing comes when we discover that our identity is not determined by what our earthly father did or did not do. Our identity is determined by God’s love. Perhaps today God is hearing the cry of a child—not necessarily a child in years, but a child in spirit. Someone who still carries old wounds, still longs for acceptance, still wonders if they are truly loved.

The good news of Genesis 21 is this: God hears every cry. And because God hears us, God can heal us. And because God heals us, God can help us forgive. And because God helps us forgive, God can lead us toward reconciliation and peace.

It is a time to lift up your weakness to God. It is a time to lift up your heartbroken child and family member to God. God hears you and protects them. God is the Healer. God is the Protector. God is the Savior. God never turns a deaf ear to our prayers.

Thanks be to God. Amen.