Genesis 16:13

New Living Translation

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”

For Meditation

She thought she was just a slave—a nobody—in the house of this prominent man with a special relationship with the God of creation. She saw and experienced the love and discipline in the home of Abram and her mistress, Sarai, and loved it. Hagar knew her place in the house and accepted it, for we hear nothing about her being rude until her mistress threw her into the uncomfortable situation of sleeping with her husband to procreate for them because she was barren and over the top in age to carry a baby (Genesis 16:1-4).
Events move quickly. Hagar finds herself in the arms of the husband of her mistress. Now, a tiny baby has settled in her. Her situation has changed. She is the preferred woman in their home now that she is carrying the heir of the patriarch, and she makes the best of it. Sarai must know she may be the wife, but she is in control of things, carrying the heir of Abraham to delight him. Sarai has asked for a way outside the will of God to bring joy into her home but is now reaping heartache. What a disappointment!
Sarai will not stand for the arrogance of her maid, so she plays the ace in their game of distrust, disobedience, and human intrigue. Hagar is carrying the heir apparent, but she is still the boss. Her steam gets too hot for Hagar to remain in the house, so she flees from Sarai (6). Hagar wakes up on the wrong side of the house and realizes her folly. She is not in charge, after all. It is a great lesson we all learn the hard way.
The feathers of pride cannot carry anyone in flight for long. The Controller of our lives will eventually clip them and bring us down to a place we may not appreciate.
Hagar finds herself in the wilderness, on the route that could lead her back to Egypt, her home country. You may have been there before, so I leave your imagination to what is going on in the mind of Hagar as she finds herself alone on that old desert road, not knowing what the future holds for her. However, she was in for the surprise of her life in the message of tomorrow.
Two quick lessons for today, though.
First, whenever the people of God step out of line with Him, they invite trouble and suffering into their lives. They give a foothold to the enemy in their lives in unnecessary ways. So, let us keep in step with the Spirit and avoid fulfilling the desires of the flesh with its troubles (Galatians 5:16).
Second, when we find ourselves in difficult situations, as Hagar did, it is prudent to seek God’s guidance to handle it appropriately. Otherwise, they will eventually become our worst enemies, snares in our lives we may find stressful to deal with, but for the grace of God. Let us, therefore, keep it down and humble, maintaining a keen eye on what the Lord is doing in our lives.