Hagar

Have you ever thought much about Hagar? Do you even know who she is? Hagar was Sarai's maid from Egypt whom she sent to sleep with Abram in order to have a child.

Now, the first interesting thing about Hagar is that she was most likely obtained through a half lie. In Genesis 12:10-20, Abram and Sarai travel down to Egypt to avoid a famine and Abram has Sarai tell everyone she is his sister so that they won't kill him because of her beauty. Now, she was his half-sister, but more importantly, his wife. Pharaoh took Sarai to be one of his wives because she was so beautiful – around the age of 65, I might add – and treated Abram well, giving him many possessions, including slaves (v. 16). When Pharaoh found out the truth because of the plagues God was placing on his house, he sent Abram away with all he had been given (v. 20). Most likely that included what Sarai had been given too: Hagar. Pharaoh just wanted them gone; no matter what they took.

Fast forward around ten years to Sarai's desperation to have children. She was past child-bearing age and took God's matters into her own hands. Hagar is told to go sleep with Abram in order to give a possible child to Sarai. So now Hagar, foreign born slave, obtained through a false word from Abram, becomes pregnant in order to falsely fulfill a Word from God for Sarai. Not exactly fair, is it?

Unfortunately, when Hagar sees that she is pregnant with Abram's child, she begins to look down on her mistress (Gen. 16:4). This further infuriates Sarai, who goes and complains to Abram that this is all his fault. He, not wanting to get in the middle of an even worse situation, tells Sarai to take Hagar and do whatever she wants with her. Verse 6 tells us that “...Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away.”

By a spring of water in the desert the Angel of the Lord found Hagar and spoke to her. (Verse 8) “...'Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?' She replied, 'I'm running away from my mistress Sarai.'”

Every ounce of our “We have rights!” bodies tell us that God should then have comforted Hagar and taken her to live somewhere she was appreciated and loved. However, that was not God's plan.

“Then the Angel of the Lord said to her, 'You must go back to your mistress and submit to her mistreatment.' The Angel of the Lord also said to her, 'I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.'” (Gen. 16:9-10) In modern terms, “You need to submit to the mistreatment for this lifetime, but I promise you will be blessed after you die.”

I ask you the same question I ask of myself today: Do you love God enough to follow Him, even if He asks that of you?

Dry

What do you do when you can't hear or feel God?

We all go through dry seasons. I don't think it's even possible to live in a constant state of spiritual bliss, and honestly, I don't want to. We are creatures of habit and assumption. If we get use to something it becomes no big deal to us. Think of it this way: Going 40mph seems slow to us, doesn't it? But let's go back 70 years. 40mph was a big deal. It was very exciting and appreciated. I don't ever want to think of God as no big deal or under appreciate Him.

I have noticed a change in my dry spells lately. Instead of being dry as dust, it's been like a cracked surface with some moisture trapped underneath. OK, I know, enough with the comparisons. Even when I seem to be my furthest from God, there is a very viable presence still hovering near. He had made me feel so secure even when I can't truly sense Him. I know – I trust – that He is with me, and that is refreshing in and of itself.

How do you handle the dry times you have in your relationship with God?

All I Trust

I have a very difficult time trusting people. It has nothing to do with them personally, I've just been hurt so many times in life that I've built up a wall. I honestly don't remember, or perhaps even know, how to function without one.

Over the last decade, however, my husband and I have been working on tearing that wall down: Brick by brick at times. Still, I constantly struggle with placing my trust in others. Though I've asked the Lord to help me in this area, it has been slow to improve at best. In the last few years I have even learned to genuinely love people, which is quite a leap for me, but I've always held back a full measure of trust.

The other Sunday during worship time I began questioning the Lord about it once again. We were singing a new hymn titled, Oh The Deep, Deep Love. As I sang the chorus the second time, the Lord spoke loudly to me:

Oh the deep, deep love
All I need and trust
Is the deep, deep love of Jesus.

...ALL I need and trust...

The Lord changed one word for me: All I need to trust.

He spoke to my heart, “Tiffany, if you truly trust Me, everything else will work out. I will never let anything happen to you that I don't want to. And if someone does hurt or betray you, you can trust Me to work it out for your good. Don't fret over trusting others. Just trust Me.”

I suddenly felt free. If I trust in Him in place of others, I no longer need to hold any of myself back from them. If I am rejected or hurt He has allowed it, and I trust Him to use it for my good. This is not a license to be foolish – I still need to act with wisdom and discernment, but I no longer need to hold back the little extra in every situation. Because of this, I am now able to love more freely. There is no fear of being betrayed.

Oh, how sweet to trust in Jesus...

Don't Be Jesus To Anyone

I know I have a bad habit of taking popular phrases and finding something that could be wrong with them. Perhaps it's that I just look at things differently and have difficulty in taking things at face value. One saying which recently popped in my mind at an odd time was the question, “Are you being Jesus to those around you?” Now, I know this is meant to inspire us to be kind and loving to a lost world and that we need to share the Gospel of Christ to all. However, it just sounds wrong to me. I can't be Jesus to anyone! He was, and is, perfect. He is the object of our devotion. We owe Him everything for the sacrifice He made for us. I can't do any of those things.

Another problem is that sometimes Christians are Jesus to those around them. Too many pastors, teachers, or mentors are idolized by those they are trying to reach. The imperfect human is then placed on the pedestal Jesus should be on. When they fail, as they will at times, the devotee rejects Christianity as a farce; as something that has failed them.

I want to propose a slightly different phrase and give you a few reasons why. I know there are things that can be said wrong about this one as well (Remember the “I'm not perfect” statement earlier?), but I like it a bit better:

Are you being (the) Holy Spirit to those around you?

First off, the Holy Spirit dwells in imperfect people. We mess up at times no matter how hard we try. However, the Spirit lives within us to help guide, empower, and comfort Christians. Isn't that what we should be doing for the lost? We live in this imperfect world as the Spirit lives within us. We need to guide them to the Truth, amaze them with our emotional/spiritual strength, and comfort them in this difficult world, just as the Spirit does for us.

My favorite comparisons come from John 16:13-14. Jesus says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own, but will speak whatever He hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, because He will take from what is Mine and declare it to you.”

1. The Spirit guides us into all truth / We are to guide others into all truth

2. The Spirit does not speak on His own, but what He hears from the Father / We would do well to imitate this. So often we love to spread out own opinions about Christianity when we need to stop, listen to what the Father would have us say, and then say only that.

3. The Spirit declares to us what is to come / We need to have the courage to tell the world, not just what Jesus can do for them now, but what He will be saving them from.

4. The Spirit glorifies Jesus through what the Father has given His Son / We are to glorify Jesus in all that we do through the love, compassion, boldness, and faith we receive from Him.

Another thing the Holy Spirit does for us, that we don't like to talk about as much, is to burden and chasten us when we need it. That is another thing we need to do for those around us, but in a loving manner. Remember, He never forces us, and when we do choose wrong is there to comfort us in our repentance.

So what are you to those around you? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? Or just another bump on the log?

“Loose Items Are Stowed Away, And The Bar Is Lowered...”

The summer is over and the rush begins. I am looking down at the next few months as though I was on the top of a roller coaster ride preparing for the plunge: Excited and holding on for dear life!

Honestly, I haven't been doing much over the last month so I could spend some quality time with all my children. Within the next few weeks, however, I will start teaching three different classes (all going along at the same time with different material), getting back into the volunteer mode, and working a part-time job for 4 to 6 weeks. Also, the kids start school on Wednesday. (Yea!) I say all this to let you know that I may have a lot to talk about which may at times seem to have no correlation. I've noticed that I tend to see life through the glasses of what ever I am studying at the time, and since my studies will be all over the Bible, so will I. I hope you enjoy it!

Here are some of the topics I will be studying. Which seem most interesting to you?

Life Principles from Women of the Bible. This study will take us through the topical issues and lessons from many of the different women in Scripture.

John: The Beloved Disciple. This is a Beth Moore study I've hear many good things about and can't wait to do!

Esther: It's Tough Being A Woman / When Godly People Do Ungodly Things. We'll be finishing up Esther after taking a break and will be moving on to this next study. They are both excellent! I highly recommend When Godly People Do Ungodly things to anyone. Even for a 2nd, 3rd, 4th time or more.

If you live in the Murfreesboro, TN area, please contact me if you are interested in joining any of theses studies. We love to have new people. This is defiantly not restricted to a single church, friend, or age group! Email me anytime at tkgodbey@gmail.com for times and locations.