Genesis 16:9
“And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”
One of the people in Scriptures who is often looked down upon is Hagar. Let’s face it; she was the other woman in an affair. Yes, Sarai was part of this plan of this adulterous affair, but Hagar went along with it when she had to know that it wasn’t right.
However, Hagar was obviously a person who wanted to obey the LORD. When she ran from the presence of Sarai because of the treatment she received, she was open to the LORD’s commandment and obeyed in spite of how difficult it would be. Yet, I believe that her obedience revealed her heart. She was more interested in pleasing the LORD than personal comfort. She knew when she obeyed the LORD that her situation would get worse, but she desired the LORD’s blessing on her life so much that she was willing to obey in spite of the consequences of obedience. Four things are seen about obedience through Hagar’s life.
First, obedience won’t always be easy. Obedience isn’t doing what want to do, but it is doing what you wouldn’t do when you are told to do it. Hagar would not have returned to her master, but God told her to, and she obeyed. If the only time you obey is when it is going to be easy, you will find that you will never obey. There are going to be times when what you are supposed to do will be hard to do, but if you want God’s blessings on your life, you will have to do the hard thing and obey. The degree of difficulty that obedience takes reveals the degree of submission you have for the LORD.
Second, obedience often makes you return and correct your wrongs. When Hagar returned, she had to face the music of her immoral relationship with Abram. You will find that when you start obeying, you will have to face some of the things you have tried to avoid throughout your life; however, if you want to be right with the LORD, you will do whatever it takes to make your past wrongs right. It is not going to be easy, but if your heart is right with the LORD, it will be something you desire to clean up.
Third, obedience sometimes makes life worse. Hagar knew that if she obeyed, she would have to deal with Sarai’s hard dealings. God never said that obedience would make everything get better; in fact, there are going to be times when you obey and life’s situation will get worse. This will reveal your heart and your desire to please the LORD. My friend, there are going to be times when you obey and your life will become worse, but if you want to please the LORD, you will still obey. There have been several times in my life when obeying the Scriptures made my life more difficult, but if I wanted to keep the LORD’s blessings, I had to obey. Don’t think that obedience will always make life better. It will at times make it worse, but you will have the pleasure of knowing that you did the right thing and pleased the LORD.
Fourth, there is always blessing in obedience. Hagar did have a child through the whole ordeal, and that child became her source of blessing. Christian, life may not become better because you obeyed, but you will always get God’s favor through obedience. You are going to have to decide whether you are going to obey the LORD and have his favor or obey self and displease the LORD. The LORD always took care of Hagar throughout the difficulty of obedience, and He will take care of you if you will obey.