HAGAR.

HAGAR. A name meaning ‘flight,’ and what an appropriate name for this woman we find in Genesis 16 & 21.

Hagar was an Egyptian slave who served her mistress, Sarah. (Chatted about Sarai/Sarah yesterday in case you missed it.)

Serving such a wealthy mistress would have been the best she could have hoped for as a slave, yet her story ended up taking flight in an unexpected direction.

Her mistress, in a desperate move to force the promise God had spoken over her to come to pass, insisted that Abraham take Hagar as a surrogate. So any child to born to Hagar would technically be Sarah’s.

Imagine being a slave and elevated to the status of concubine or 2nd wife to the wealthiest man in the area. Quite the jump in circumstances.

And then, Hagar becomes pregnant. And in doing so, it becomes blatantly obvious that Abraham is able to sire children, and Sarah wasn’t.

This mind shift for Hagar caused her to forget her place in the overall situation, and as the Bible states, she ‘begins to despise her mistress.’

Not sure what else Sarah expected by causing this situation, but it became clear that Sarah didn’t like the resulting changes which occurred. (Also clear, Abraham also didn’t help by following Sarah’s suggestion to sleep with Hagar. He too seemed to have taken his eyes off the Promise Keeper by agreeing to Sarah’s plan.)

In retaliation, Sarah began to mistreat Hagar, who fled to escape her worsening situation.

Taking flight in an unknown country with nowhere to go, while leaving your child behind would not have been an easy choice for Hagar to make.

Yet, God sent an angel to meet her in the desert, giving her her own promise for a good future, with numerous descendents of her own.

Reminding us that God not only sees each of us in every situation, but can help us navigate our way through the hardest of days.

God again sees her in Genesis 21, & makes a way for her & Ishmael after they are cast out with the birth of Isaac.

He sees everything, friend. The injustices, our hopes, the pain & anguish we can encounter. Hagar reminds me that no matter how our story starts or turns, God can give us a fresh start.

#SheBelongs #sharingHope #hopefortheharddays