Bible Devotions for Living

Where is your life heading?

Learning from Hagar

³ So Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband Abram as a wife for him … ⁴ He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she realized that she was pregnant, she treated her mistress with contempt. ⁵ Then Sarai said to Abram, “… ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt” … ⁶ Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your slave is in your hands; do whatever you want with her.” Then Sarai mistreated her so much that she ran away from her. ⁷ The Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸ He said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”(Gen 16:2-7)

Abram’s wife, Sarai, couldn’t have kids so she gives her Egyptian slave, Hagar, to Abram to have a kid through her. Hagar gets pregnant, and then she treats Sarai very poorly. Sarai then mistreats Hagar so much that Hagar runs away.

Hagar ran from her problem by running into the wilderness which is where God asks her, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?”

I think God asked the question to get her to stop and think about the direction of her life before it was too late.

Think about it, she’s pregnant, alone, and has no food, water, shelter, or survival skills. She traded one tough situation for a life-threatening one. Where was her life heading? … toward death.

Pay attention to your life direction

Just like Hagar, you have a life direction too. You may be actively planning your direction, or it may simply be happening. One way or another though, your direction is shaped by your circumstances, decisions, emotions, and actions.

Your direction can be great, neutral, or bad. The best way to determine your direction in life is by answering God’s question to Hagar. “Where have you come from and where are you going?”

Hagar knew how good life was with Abraham until she got obnoxious, she also knew her life at the time was bad in the wilderness, and she could figure out where she was going … death.

You can determine your direction by looking at where you were and where you are to help you to know where you are heading just like in Hagars case. For example, if you had $5 million dollars 3 years ago and only have $100,000 now, it is easy to see your direction is toward being broke unless you make changes.

Your life has many different types of directions like physical, financial, and spiritual. As a believer, the most important direction in your life is your spiritual direction. Keep an eye on your direction in life … especially your spiritual direction. In our busy lives it is too easy to just let life happen and not think about our direction. If you just float along like that you will probably not end up where you want to be. Take charge of the direction in your life by regularly checking which way you are heading in life. That way, if you get off course, you will catch it early and only have a minor adjustment to make as opposed to catching it later after you run into a major problem.

Think of a boat ride. If you are paying attention to where you are heading you will make minor adjustments along the way to stay pointed in the right direction. But if you don’t pay attention you might find yourself crashing into some rocks.

Learn from God’s question to Hagar. She knew where she came from, where she was, and was encouraged to think about where she was heading.

Keep an eye on your direction in life, especially your spiritual direction and growth.

Think about it

Where is your spiritual life heading?

Are you more godly or worldly than you were a couple years ago?

Are you closer to God or farther away?

Where does your life trend show you are heading?

Evaluate your direction from every angle. 

Are the places you go, your thoughts, your relationships, hobbies, and the way you talk heading in a good spiritual direction?

Are your life goals more spiritual or worldly than before?

It’s time to examine your spiritual life direction.

Where have you come from and where are you going? (Gen 16:7)

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. (Pv 14:12)

I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with My eye on you, I will give counsel. (Ps 32:8)

Do you need to make directional changes?