The Hagar’s Way -By Seun Elere

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans. Prob 16:3 NIT

Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. Ps 37:5 NLT

We always love to have everything under control, well planned and figured out. It makes logical sense to work hard and make it on our own. Anything outside this, certainly does not make sense to us. It is very good to work hard because God Himself detaste slothfulness but many are the plans of man, however, only the counsel of God shall stand Prov 19:21. If then only God’s counsel stands, why don’t we always seek first the help of the custodian to figure out if our plans fit into His counsel?

We are all created for a purpose, to solve a particular problem, to impact in a particular way, etc. We are not created to do the same things. A drummer, an organist and a singer knit to make a great band. Likewise, we have different talent/assignment and directions we were created to take.

There is a way that seem right to man but it always doesn’t lead anywhere Prov 14:12. Many of us are exhausted from sweating and labouring day in day out on our plans that totally doesn’t fit into His counsel. We keep sweating to chop a rock with a blunt axe when His counsel is for us to use the whet axe on a dry wood.

The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.” 2Kings 2:19 NIT

That offer may look so wonderful, the new city might look so promising, the opportunity seems so surreal, the man/woman looks perfect for marriage, etc but the water might be bad and not in line with His counsel for you. Ask the custodian of the counsel, the designer of the manual, which way forward. Most times, the answer comes in a very silly way that may seem unreal and belittling our intellectual but God’s way are not our way and He uses the most simple things to confound the wise 1Cor 1:27-31.

Hagar had an assignment, ordained by God, to nurture her son to greatness but when Abraham set her out with food and water without clear destination, she didn’t ask the custodian of the counsel which way forward neither did she ask for the map or destination. Instead, ‘…She left and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba..’ She and her baby got dehydrated and at the point of death before she remembered to talk to the one who has the plan Gen 21:15-16. Surprisingly, the water she and her son so desperately needed was right with her all along. This is why the angel asked “…What are you troubled about, Hagar?…” Gen 21:17. Meaning, I thought you knew the way. She has no knowledge of the assignment at all, she never asked and wandered in the wilderness for so long until she and her son were literally gasping for air to survive but when she cried to the Custodian, He revealed the assignment and there was no record of her lacking anything thereafter.

Many of us are wandering in the wilderness of life, we are gasping for air running a race that we were never designed for. Proceeding on a journey without the maps nor knowledge of the destination is dangerous, yet, we keep running and running and hoping that it would get better until we waste away without fulfilling the purpose we were created for. We are just too arrogant to ask, we believe we need to start on a journey and God will meet us halfway. He (God) knows the end from the beginning and it only makes sense to pitch with the one who already know the end, doesn’t it?

The believe that God will show up when we are exhausted is erroneous and grossly misleading. The truth is that we only ask Him when we are exhausted not that it is when God chooses to show up. It is also very funny to believe that heaven will always help those who help themselves – it is a lie. Heaven always help those who ask for help. You may think you have all the answers but you honestly don’t. God is the only one that knows all. While making our plans for the new year 2023, it is always profitable to ask for HIS counsel.
It is time we stop doing it the Hagar’s way and ask Him for the assignment, how to execute it and the possible outcome. You didn’t create yourself, what makes you think you can help yourself?

I pray that we all receive the grace to always seek Him first for guidance in all we do especially as we step into the new year.

God bless you.