Thursday, October 10, 2019

The Rewards of Submission - Devotion on Genesis 16


Scripture: Genesis 16:9
Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.”

This is not what Hagar wanted to hear. She probably wanted the angel to say, “Oh, you poor thing, you’ve been so mistreated. Here, let me make you the mistress of your own household.”

But that’s not what God did for her then. In fact, in the previous verse, he called her the “slave of Sarai” reminding her of her situation in life and seemingly not interested in changing it.

And much to our frustration, God often isn’t in as much of a hurry to change our situations as we want Him to be. While He wants to alleviate suffering and bring us joy, He’s more interested in making us holy than in making us happy. Like Hagar, He wants us to learn how to grow and mature in our present situations instead of trying to escape them. He wants to teach us endurance, patience, humility, and contentment instead of how to give up and move on.

While there are some circumstances that God wants you to leave immediately, think about the current situation you’re in that you wish was different. What is God wanting to teach you through it before it’s over? Don’t miss the lesson for the sake of a quick exit.

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