Side Character Complex

Take a moment to refresh, refocus, and refine your faith.

Isaiah 43:19

"Behold, I am about to do something new; even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness and streams in the desert"

Have you ever felt relegated to a supporting role in someone else’s story? When we think about the lineage of Chrisian faith, memory casts back to the early patriarchs and matriarchs—those figureheads whose stories dominated our Sunday school songs and continue to serve as pillars for understanding the scope of Scripture. But while God worked through them to shape his chosen people in preparation for Christ, he did not overlook those pushed to the wayside. God is the God who sees. He is the God who hears. He is the God who loves.

Do you know the famous song celebrating “Father Abraham?” There is no lyric about Hagar, is there? God promised to make the child of Abraham and Sarah into a great nation, but they grew impatient and took matters into their own hands. They produced a child through the maidservant Hagar instead (Genesis 21:8-21). When the consequences of trying to force God’s timing led to Hagar’s being cast out into the desert, God saw her, had compassion, and blessed her. While she was used and abandoned by her master and mistress nearly to the point of death, God himself drew close and met her and her child with grand promises of their own that he was faithful to fulfill.

When Leah was disguised by her father to deceive Jacob—Abraham’s grandson—into marrying her instead of his beloved Rachel, it was Leah who bore the weight of feeling unwanted and unloved (Genesis 29:16-35). Leah had come second to her younger sister much of her life due to her visual disability and lack of beauty in comparison. Her hope of finally marrying a man who would value her was quickly crushed by Jacob’s outburst the next morning, then crushed over and over again as she watched Jacob dote on Rachel instead of her. But God, seeing her plight, blessed Leah with children, giving her pride of place in the family hierarchy by being the first to bear Jacob many sons. Those sons would become the namesake tribes of the Israelite nation.

Like Hagar and Leah, we can find ourselves feeling like insignificant, unwanted, and even rejected side characters in the stories of those around us. There’s always someone more successful, more attractive, more talented, more liked, etc. We might find ourselves questioning whether we matter. Are our needs and feelings important? Would it make much difference if we just disappeared? 

But the desert—that space where loneliness, despair, and grief rise like clouds of dust to choke us—is often where God himself draws near. The barren wasteland becomes a sacred place of fruitful blessing and promise. He brings us into the wilderness so that we can clearly hear his tender voice and receive new purpose (Hosea 2:14-23). There he calls us into significant roles in the grand narrative of Creation’s redemption.

God is the God who sees. He is the God who hears. He is the God who loves. When we feel abandoned or undervalued, his Spirit draws near to revive us with his promises. Even when the world overlooks and misunderstands us, God never does. Behold, he is doing a new thing—making streams in our deserts and inviting us into his greater story.

Where in your life do you feel overlooked, and how might God be meeting you there?