Are you running to a wall?

I decided to read Hagar's story this morning.

I wanted to see in the Bible Genesis 16:13.

NIV - She gave this name to The Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me,' for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

ESV - So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

MSG -  She answered God by name, praying to God who spoke to her, "You're the God who sees me! Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!"

Hagar's life was in distress.  She was pregnant with no husband or family to care for her.  Her mistress, Sarai, was angry and mistreating her, so Hagar ran away.  She ran away from all the hardship and pain in her life, wanting to start a new life somewhere else.  Just needing to get away from it all and get a break from the stress that was in her life in that very moment.  It felt too much for her to handle. Man, I can TOTALLY relate to that!

There are many times I just want to run away, cut all ties and get out of dodge!  I get that feeling that God doesn't see me and see my needs and wants.  He seems to give me the opposite of what I'm asking for.  I'm at a place now I just want to run and start a new, tired of the pit of mud I feel I'm sinking in.  I want to flee from the harshness of life (verse 6).  Keep reading cause the next verse sums it all up for those of us wanting to flee.

Genesis 16:7 "The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur."

When we are fleeing from our troubles, trying to get away from it all to the wilderness, desert, or place of solitude, make sure you park your troubles by the spring of water, the living water that is Jesus Christ.  There He is waiting for you to run to a place of solitude not by yourself, but run to a place of solitude with Him, so He can refresh your soul.  He sees you and your troubles.  He knows you are running and He is there waiting for you.

John 4:14 But whoever drinks of the water that I give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

I looked up what Shur means, that was the place Hagar was on her "way to" verse 7.  Shur means wall. WOW, she was fleeing hardships only to flee to a wall.  The Lord stopped her from hitting that wall. He arrived at just the right time as He always does.  In this moment, Hagar realizes she is not alone, she has not been forgotten.  He is a God who sees her and her troubles.  He is a God who sees you and your troubles.  He is a God who sees me and my troubles.

Genesis 16:13 So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, "You are a God of seeing," for she said, "Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

Let's step back just a few verses.  Before all this realization happens for Hagar, read verse 9.

Genesis 16:9 The angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress and submit to her."

OUCH!!! I want to grumble to the Lord in this very moment.  This is also a moment of some irony as well, since I just taught a lesson to my kids this morning before school about obedience without grumbling.  How Abraham obeyed God without grumbling or complaining when the Lord asked him to sacrifice Issac. OUCH again!!!

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or questioning.

I am called to return and submit.  That is a really large pill for me to swallow right now.  Why is God asking me to do this because my whole being wants to flee and run in the opposite direction He is telling me to go.  Oops, there is the questioning. :)  Take a deep breathe then keep reading back to verse 13.  I can return to whatever I'm fleeing from, walking refreshed and tall to what God is calling me to do because God is a God who sees me and looks after me.  He is the same God for you as well!

This is all very hard or maybe even feels impossible to do because you haven't fully, completely put your trust in Him. You have to do that first before you can obey without grumbling.  You have to trust He sees you in all your struggles and pain.  You have to trust He loves you and only wants the best for you.  You have to put your trust in Him, ALL of it, so that when He calls you to what seems impossible, you can obey without grumbling because you have trust in your Father who adores you.