Genesis 16:7-15 – Trusting God in difficult moments

Abram did not consider carefully when he listened to his wife and had Hagar pregnant. What he had created was not a problem but a difficulty. We can solve a problem but difficulty cannot be solved. One can only live with a difficulty. So Abram had to live with this difficulty that he had produced, Ishmael. Hagar not being able to bear with the ill treatment of Sarai decided to run away from her mistress. She was probably heading to Egypt where she came from. But providence would have it that she was stopped in her track by an angel of the Lord. Notice how the angel addressed her. The angel called her Hagar, Sarai’s maid. This is a reminder to her of her position. She had a duty to Sarai even if she disliked how she was treated. She had to be responsible. There is a need to differentiate between one’s duty and who one is serving. We may not be in agreement with a person, but we should not run away from the duty we are expected to do. What Hagar did also tells us that people do have the tendency to be escapists. The first thing we want to do when we have a difficult boss is to seek another employment. We do realize that a difficulty can strengthen our fortitude and resolve in life, as we seek a way to deal with it.  

The angel put her in her place and reminded her of who she really was – Sarai’s maid. Her place was in Sarai’s tent serving her. She has no right to be wandering in the wilderness. She was told to return to her mistress and do the right thing i.e. submit to her authority. As Sarai’s maid, it’s her duty to serve her mistress and be at her command. Here the angel of the Lord representing God further promised that her descendants will be numerous. And then told her that she had indeed conceived a son and he was to be named Ishmael. This name means God hears. Truly her cries of misery was heard by God and He responded to her cries. The angel of the Lord further told her that Ishmael would be as wild as a donkey, indicating that Ishmael and his descendants would be living a nomadic existence. And his life would be geared toward hostility and conflict. We can only surmise that this could be pointing to what we see in the Middle East conflicts today.  

Hagar called God, “The Lord who sees.” How true this name is. Just as God saw the affliction and struggles Hagar went through, He also can see ours too. There’s no difficulty in life that God will not help us to deal with, when we seek his help. Personally we will find it hard to endure but with prayer and obedience, all difficulties can be overcome.  Hagar then called the place Beer-Lahai-roi meaning “the well of Him that lives and sees me.” It was a special place, a place where the Lord saw the needy of a desperate maid and stretched out His helping hand.  So Hagar bore Abram Ishmael when he was 86 years of age. Ours is a caring and gracious God. He not only sees but also would respond to our cries in time of needs. He is ever ready to deliver and help us deal with our difficulty in life. We can trust Him!