Wasting FaithSample

DAY 1: REFUSAL TO SUBMIT TO GOD’S WILL

When we walk by faith, we are living according to our trust in God, our trust in God’s power, and our trust in God’s infinite knowledge and wisdom. If we try to control our lives, control our circumstances, or deviate from God’s will in any way, we cannot expect to see God do all that He wants to do in and through us. God’s will may not make sense to us, but if we knew what God knew, we would understand why His will is what it is. To truly walk by faith, we must fully submit to God, which includes our desires, our goals, and all the emotions that come with them. As frightening as it may be to surrender to God, we know that God will always provide for us, always take care of us, and will never put us to shame.

In Genesis 16, we read about the story of Hagar, and how she was sought out by God after she had fled her mistress. The context of this chapter is that Sarai, who is Abram’s wife, is unable to conceive. Because Sarai had been unable to conceive, she asked Abram to lie down with Hagar, who was their servant. Rather than trusting God with her circumstance, Sarai took her life into her own hands and encouraged her husband to have a child with their servant. Hagar, after having conceived, began to look “with contempt on her mistress.” Sarai is upset by the way Hagar looks at her.

We do not know exactly what Sarai did to Hagar, but we do know that Abram gave Sarai the authority to do with Hagar as she pleased and that Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar. Hagar fled her mistress and began a journey to Egypt, where she was from. While Hagar was traveling, she stopped by a spring of water. It was by this spring that the Lord found her. He asked her where she had come from and where she was going. Hagar tells the Lord that she is fleeing from Sarai, her mistress. In response, the Lord tells Hagar to do something that was likely the last thing that she would have ever considered doing:

The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” [Genesis 16:9, ESV]

The Lord does not give Hagar a command without giving her some kind of encouragement. In verse 10, the Lord tells Hagar that He will multiply her offspring “so that they cannot be numbered for multitude,” which gave Hagar great joy. Hagar proclaims that the Lord is “a God of seeing,” and names her child Ishmael (“God hears”) to memorialize what had taken place that day.

Hagar fled her mistress after being mistreated, began a trip back to her homeland, and had no intention of going back to her mistress. However, when the Lord met Hagar, He gave her a promise; He gave her a command; and He gave her the faith to do what He had called her to do. In order to receive the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise, Hagar needed to submit to the will of God.

If God reveals part of His will for us, we must allow God to take full control of our lives; we must allow Him to work in us; and we must allow Him to work through us.

In addition to submitting to God’s will, we also bear the responsibility to act when God tells us to act. If we do not obey the Lord, we will not see all that He wants to do in us.

Walking by faith is difficult, but God will equip you with the strength, wisdom, and knowledge that you need. All that you have to do is surrender to God’s will, ask Him for guidance, and obey what He tells you to do. When you follow what God tells you to do, you will see God work more powerfully in your life than you could have ever imagined.

REFLECT:

1. What does Psalm 25 tell us about those who trust in the Lord?
2. What does Psalm 25 tell us about God’s character?
3. In Genesis 16, when should Abram, Sarai, and Hagar have asked God for direction, respectively?