role reversal-3

Hagar's meeting with God.

7 The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

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

 9 Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

 11 The angel of the LORD also said to her:

   “You are now pregnant

   and you will give birth to a son.

You shall name him Ishmael,^[a^]

   for the LORD has heard of your misery.

12 He will be a wild donkey of a man;

   his hand will be against everyone

   and everyone’s hand against him,

and he will live in hostility

   toward^[b^] all his brothers.”

 13 She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen^[c^] the One who sees me.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi^[d^]; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.

Then the angel of the LORD told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10   I love that God never offers a solution to our problems the includes going against the system he set up.  Slaves were to be submissive to their masters.  Hagar needed to go back and submit, even though from a human standpoint it looked like she needed to get out of there.  Wow, that is grounding isn't it?  

Hagar had run from Sarai.  She didn't seek the Lord either.  But oh the wonderful part: The Lord sought out Hagar! What a comfort it is! The presence of the Lord in her life gave her comfort and security in a time of extreme pain and fear.Vs 13“I have now seen^[c^] the One who sees me.” Sometimes we are like Hagar. Sometimes we are the victims of others decisions made outside of seeking God.  Sometimes we are hurt and we want to run from our circumstances.  We need God to seek us out and remind us that he sees us and he will protect us.  Whether we need to repent and seek, or we need God to get our attention, what we need is to be in the presence of God, To see the one who sees us"  In that we find peace and the solutions to our problems, real or imaginary :)  

Hagar recieved the courage she needed to go back to Abram and Sarai and lived there many more years with her son.