The mother bird was
catching grasshoppers and risking the flight down to the ground to feed her
baby, who was too young to fly. She was doing what her instincts told her was
necessary. But it takes a lot more than instincts to be a great human mother.
It takes a relationship
with God. Let’s look at some of the dilemmas of a mother, Hagar, in the Old
Testament. She was the handmaid to Sarai, Abram’s wife. When Sarai couldn’t get
pregnant, she gave Hagar to Abram. After Hagar got pregnant, Sarai was angry
and jealous and treated Hagar horribly. Hagar fled. But God had other plans.
He sent an angel to
deliver a hard message to her. God wanted her to go back into the house of
Abram and Sarai. Can you even imagine
how heart-wrenching that message must have been? And how difficult it was to go
back into a situation where she was mistreated?
But she obeyed God. Here’s
the story:
“And the angel of the Lord
found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's
maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from
the face of my mistress Sarai.
And the angel of the Lord
said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And
the angel of the Lord said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that
it shall not be numbered for multitude.
And the angel of the Lord
said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call
his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction” (Gen 16:7-11).
The word “heard” in this
last verse is shama, which
means to listen attentively, carefully, with regard and understanding. The word “affliction” means misery and depression. The angel was telling her that God understood her
misery and depression. He cared about her and was listening to her anguish and
in spite of what it seemed, she could trust that He still had a good plan for
them.
Mothers need to know that
they can take their deepest concerns to God and that He will instruct them and
they can trust Him. God knows what’s in the future, so obedience necessarily overrides
instinct at times.
After this encounter with
an angel of God, Hagar realized how much God cared about her and her child. She
could go back into Sarai and Abram’s home with new courage and a new awareness
of how important she was to God no matter how Sarai felt about her. There were
important lessons to learn and it was in Abram’s home that she and her son
would learn them.
In the wilderness Hagar
had poured out her heart to God, but she didn’t stop there. She learned how to
listen to Him. She risked her own feelings of human rejection and obeyed when
it wasn’t easy. God blessed her because of it and made her son the father of an
entire nation.
We all have times when we
know the best thing for us is go back to a situation we don’t like. But if it’s
really the Lord instructing us and not just our ego, it’ll work out.
God gave Hagar a promise
to look forward to, which gave her the courage to go on. He doesn’t always do
that, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Why do we go back to something dragging our
feet in drudgery as if it’s God’s punishment. We don’t even let Him give us a
promise or some word of encouragement. We’re way too accustomed to thinking
everyone’s always against us.
But Romans 8:28 tells us “that all things [of God] work together for good to
them that love God.” With the right attitude and a little trust (or a lot!) we can
still get through it. We’re never alone; the Lord is always with us every step
of the way.
Hagar didn’t want to go
back into Sarai and Abram’s home. And we don’t like going back to difficult
situations either. But with God’s help we can do it and He will give us things
to enjoy along the way and great rewards in the end. Take heart and trust Him; He
will absolutely work things out for our good.
Love, Carolyn
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