Go back and submit

The Bible says, “Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar…in the desert…And he said, ‘Hagar…where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,’ she answered. Then the angel…told her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her.’ The angel added, ‘I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count’” (vv. 6-10 NIV). Hagar obeyed, and when her son Ishmael was born, God said, “I have heard you: I will surely bless him…make him fruitful and…greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation” (Genesis 17:20 NIV). Most of us don’t relish the idea of submitting (acquiescing, deferring to, or surrendering), and God sent Hagar back to a hard place that day. But when she obeyed, He blessed her. Note the question the angel asked her, because it may be one God’s asking you as well: “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” If He is, stop and consider your answer. God, who knows the end from the beginning and who brings good things out of bad, has your best interests at heart. Even though it’s hard to do, if you’ll obey Him, He will bless you. He will give you grace to endure and strength for the struggle and do things in your life that can’t be accomplished any other way. By trying to escape your present situation, you may be running from the lesson God wants to teach you and the rewards that lie beyond it. So the word for you today is this: “Go back and submit.”