“The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back…” – Genesis 16:7-9a
I take faith into my own hands…when I run from the consequences of my actions like Hagar did. Hagar had treated Sarai with contempt (Genesis 16:4), and although Hagar was mistreated, she certainly wasn’t blameless. Rather than face the consequences of her actions, Hagar ran away.
Some people will turn to God because they think He will make the consequences of their past go away, or that He will make everything better with no suffering ahead. That’s not how God works. He required Hagar to go back and submit to her suffering, and He may require us to go back and face the consequences of our past too.
When Jesus faced the penalty for our sin at the cross, He was removing our condemnation, but not necessarily all of our consequences. Jesus requires us to submit to the cross daily and follow Him even if He says, “Trust me and go back…”
Think These Things 