Hagar

Hagar

Reading the Word

The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. 8 The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.

9 The angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” 10 Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count” (Genesis 16:7–10).

Setting the Scene

Escape is usually the most tempting solution to our problems. In fact, it can become a habit. Hagar, the servant-wife of Abraham, used that approach. When the going got tough, she usually got going—in the other direction.

Hagar’s pregnancy caused her to look down on Sarah, who consequently punished her. Hagar ran away. When she returned to the family and gave birth to Ishmael, Sarah looked for any excuse to have Hagar and Ishmael sent away for good. In the desert, out of water and facing the death of her son, Hagar once again tried to escape. She walked away so she wouldn’t have to watch her son die. Once again, God graciously intervened.

Getting Personal

Have you noticed how God sometimes blocks our exits for our own good? He wants us to face our problems with his help. We see his provision most clearly in times of conflict and difficulty.

• In what problems or conflicts have you been using the “Hagar solution”? Choose one of those problems, ask for God’s help, and begin to face it today.
• God found Hagar in the desert and gave her hope. What is your “desert”? God will find you and bring you home.

Talking to God

Lord, I need your help with this problem . . .

Adapted from 365 Life Lessons from Bible People by Livingstone (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1996), used by permission.