Hagar was a victim. Life seemed to hand her nothing but negative circumstances that were out of her control. She was born an Egyptian but was not free. At some point in her life, she became the servant of an older woman and her husband, living a nomadic life, wandering through Canaan and serving them. This probably was not her first choice for her life; and things only seemed to get worse.

Her mistress, Sarai, and her master, Abram, served a God whom they said was the only true God, and this God had promised them that they would receive a son. God had pointed to both the shining stars flung across the heavens above them and the powdery grains of dust down below them, promising that their offspring would be just as innumerable. In this special son, all the families of the earth would be blessed. And Abram believed this promise!

But that didn’t change the facts. Month after month, Sarai remained childless, and month after month her trust in God’s plan was tested. The years slipped by and soon Sarai turned 76 years old.  In desperation, she turned to Hagar as the answer to her own childlessness. If Hagar, as a servant, bore Abram a child, the child would be considered Sarai’s, and God’s promise would then be fulfilled. Abram listened to Sarai’s plan, and thus Hagar became the victim of a scheme not her own, a scheme that involved trying to twist the arm of the almighty God into executing His promise in their timing.

God seemed to bless Sarai’s plan. After becoming Abram’s wife, Hagar conceived. In that moment of truth when she realized that she was pregnant, Hagar’s whole life took a sudden twist. No longer was she just the Egyptian slave. No longer was she a powerless victim. She was now bearing in her womb the heir of one of the greatest promises, or so they all believed. Hagar had done what her mistress Sarai was incapable of doing. And in that moment, Hagar began to despise Sarai.

It didn’t take long before Sarai regretted her decision. In her anger and grief, she accused Abram of doing wrong and pointed out Hagar’s contempt of her. Abram in turn told Sarai that she could do whatever she wanted with Hagar as her servant. As quickly as Hagar became important, the tables turned. She once more became a victim, this time of her mistress’s anger and jealousy. Sarai treated her harshly, but Hagar, in defiance, fled through the wilderness toward her homeland of Egypt.

But where was the God of Abram and Sarai this whole time? Did He even notice this drama of slave woman and mistress? Did He see Hagar’s unenviable circumstances, how she was forced to play so many roles not of her choice? Did He notice her pain, tears, rebellion, and bitterness? Yes! And in His mercy, He stooped down to this mixed-up, oppressed, insolent, foreign servant. No, she was not to be the mother of the heir of His promise, but yes, He cared for her. At a spring of water in the wilderness, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, questioning her as to where she had come from and where she was going. After Hagar had confessed the truth, the Angel of the Lord told her, “Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.”

Hagar was to return back to her place of duty. All this time, when it had seemed that Hagar was   the victim of uncontrollable life circumstances, she had been exactly where God wanted her to be. It couldn’t be denied that she had suffered through the sins of others; yet she was told to return.

But the Angel of the Lord didn’t leave her with only a difficult duty to look forward to. God had heard Hagar’s affliction and promised that she would bear a son whom she was to call Ishmael. He would be a wild man and would become a great nation that couldn’t be counted for number. With this great promise, the Angel left Hagar. We don’t know of Hagar’s relationship with God before this event, but regardless, she was now compelled to stand in awe of this God who saw her. Hagar called His name “Thou-God-seest-me,” recognizing that she had seen the living God. Turning around, Hagar obediently traced her way back to Abram and Sarai.

How do you respond to afflictions in your life? Do you feel like the victim of one negative event after another? There are so many things that can go wrong in our lives, so many things that seem out of our control. And when one event piles on top of another, we may be tempted to cry out with Jacob, “All these things are against me”; like Hagar, we try to flee from our calling.

But “Thou-God-seest-me” is still the same God today who spoke to Hagar in her affliction. He contin­ues to see those oppressed and bowed down with trials, misery, and sin. He promises far more than that given to Hagar: “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).