When I think of being in the wilderness, I consider it a time of focused purpose. My assumption is that at the right moment it will be all about moving forward from that place, better equipped and ready for what lies ahead. It will be time spent with God where He will deposit pieces of revelation that I need, as well as fixi what is not in accordance with His Word.
Jesus was led up by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days, and then immediately upon coming out, His ministry began in earnest. What Jesus experienced in the desert, during those 40 days of temptation by Satan, was pertinent to the years that lay ahead. Yet, when we read in Genesis 16 about Hagar in the wilderness by a spring, we are lead to see things from a different perspective. Hagar was asked two questions by the angel of the Lord. He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” Hagar replied, “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.”
Jesus was in the wilderness for all the right reasons, Hagar was not. Jesus was there to receive the fullness of His identity as the Son of God. He walked out of the desert in the power of the Holy Spirit. Hagar was in the desert because she was running away from what she did not desire to face. She was not willing to submit to the authority that was over her, and so for her there was no where to go, but to go back!
We all find ourselves in situations that are difficult to live through. For some, those moments can stretch on for long miserable periods that feel far from momentary. Truly, for someone who is suffering in an abusive relationship that is dangerous, even life threatening, there is no question of returning. This post is not directed at those situations. They are something entirely separate. We are talking here about when we know we have run away, and God wants us to go back. We go back because there is still unfinished business that still needs fixing.
Hagar needed to submit to the authority that was in place over her. Scripture tells us that she looked upon Sarai with contempt, who in turn mistreated her for her behavior. The contempt that one person displays towards another is never in accordance with God’s Word. To look upon or regard with contempt is to mock, to despise, to disrespect, to dishonor, and to humiliate. There are many more adjectives that come under the definition of contempt, but in naming just a few we can clearly see the severity of taking this posture against another person. There is nothing good that can come from it.
There are many reasons why we run to that wilderness place, a place of isolation, or why we chase someone else there. Either way, it is for us to consider and ask the Lord why. He may ask us like He asked Hagar, "Where have you come from and where are you going?” It will be a conversation that will be personal between us and God. I believe the outcome will give us a clearer understanding of what we must do, which may include returning to that place where we have come from to take care of unfinished business.
Jeremiah 33:3 CSB Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.