Hagar, The Mole!
Happy New Year readers!!! I thank God for all the amazing things He did in the year 2021 and I’m grateful for you joining me in the journey of exploring the different golden nuggets inspired by the Holy Spirit. I’m excited for the new and exciting things God has ordained for this year 2022 and I look forward to sharing each and every one of them with you this year! It’s our year of Greater Heights!
Greater heights entail doing great exploits and exploits requires one to take dominion in our God-ordained territory. In taking dominion, sometimes you need to spiritually fight and contend for what you want. No champion is made without an opponent and no star is made without scars. There are perfect storms or pressures that can create an opportunity for us to grow our spiritual muscles and help us end up as more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) or open a door to the devil for manipulation, depending on our response to it. Jesus was faced with a “perfect storm” in Mark 4, that raged with so much noise and theatrical displays and He had a choice to respond with fear and allow it to prevent Him from ministering to the man possessed with a legion of demons (Mark 5) but instead, He calmed the storm and used it as an avenue to minister faith to His disciples and bringing about deliverance to the possessed man, who ended up as a great evangelist to ten towns in that region.
“20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and began to proclaim the great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed at what he told them.” (Mark 5:20, NLT)
My spiritual father, Pastor Emmanuel Adewusi, says “Pressure doesn't always have to lead to stress” and I believe this also includes spiritual stress as well. The pressures we encounter don't always have to have a bad ending. Yes, it might be a spiritual attack or temptation but we can certainly overcome it if we have and utilize the right spiritual tools and strategies.
“35 Who could ever divorce us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One? Absolutely no one! For nothing in the universe has the power to diminish his love toward us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats? No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love,
37 Yet even in the midst of all these things, we triumph over them all, for God has made us to be more than conquerors, and his demonstrated love is our glorious victory over everything!” (Romans 8:35, 37, TPT).
Abraham was faced with a famine that was very oppressive and he gave in to the pressure and decided to go to Egypt temporarily with his family.
“Now there was a famine in the land; and Abram went down into Egypt to live temporarily, for the famine in the land was oppressive and severe” (Genesis 12:10, Amplified)
As he neared Egypt, he gave in to fear, the fear of losing his life because of the beauty of Sarah, his wife. Fear creates a trap for people to fall into. It makes people make decisions they shouldn’t have made. The pressure that arose from the famine opened up the door to fear and when this door of fear got opened, it ended up making Abraham lie about who Sarah was to him, and at the end, this lie became an entry point for a mole, called Hagar. Hagar was one of the maidservants given to Abraham by Pharaoh as a gift when he took Sarah as his wife (after Abraham lied).
“Therefore Pharaoh treated Abram well for her sake; he acquired sheep, oxen, male and female donkeys, male and female servants, and camels” (Genesis 12:16, Amplified).
This might have seemed like a “blessing in disguise” but you see, when the enemy is attacking, he is a chess player, very calculative in the moves he makes. It takes discernment from the Holy Spirit to know what the enemy is truly after from the very beginning. Hagar served under the guidance of Sarah for a long time without any issues arising until Genesis 16, when the “perfect storm” arose. Sarah and Abraham had not been able to have children for a long time and even when God promised that Sarah would give Abraham a son from her loins, it was now ten years since God made that promise. They both got tired of waiting for the fulfillment of that promise and both agreed for Hagar to “assist” them in perhaps, achieving that promise.
“3. After Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took Hagar the Egyptian [maid], and gave her to her husband Abram to be his [secondary] wife. 4. He went in to [the bed of] Hagar, and she conceived; and when she realized that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress [regarding Sarai as insignificant because of her infertility]. (Genesis 16:3-4, Amplified).
The perfect storm or circumstance allowed the true nature of Hagar to be revealed. Hagar was a woman that had the seed of covetousness but just like every seed requires the right condition for it to grow, in Hagar’s case, the perfect storm of Abraham and Sarah being desperate provided the seed of covetousness to germinate. Covetousness is a deadly seed that if allowed to grow, causes a lot of damage and all sorts of evil. Covetousness stems from envy and jealousy of another person (another’s possession, another’s friend, another’s attention/time, another’s position, another’s vision, etc). Where there is envy or jealousy, there are all kinds of evil and confusion (James 3:16). Having jealous or envious people in a person’s life is very dangerous because the enemy can easily use such weakness in achieving his own purpose. This was the case with Joseph and his brothers. They became envious of him, even to the point of wanting to kill him (Genesis 37:18-20).
Let’s examine how covetousness grows.
The Growing Stages of Covetousness
Discontentment
A lack of gratitude or not being able to find or see anything in your life to be thankful for causes gradual discontentment. There is great gain when a person chooses to be grateful and content. It is a choice we have to make deliberately. Our flesh has a tendency to downplay the blessings in our lives but we have to make a deliberate effort in ensuring we guard our contentment. Begin to count your blessings and name them one by one and truly, it would surprise you what the Lord has done for you.
“But godliness actually is a source of great gain when accompanied by contentment [that contentment which comes from a sense of inner confidence based on the sufficiency of God].” (1 Timothy 6:6, Amplified).
2. Comparison
When discontentment is not dealt with, it opens the door to comparison and eventually competition. The bug of covetousness was what stung Lucifer and he desired in his heart to ascend above God, which ended up leading to his shameful fall and exit from God’s presence.
13 “But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly, In the remote parts of the north. 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15. “But [in fact] you will be brought down to Sheol, To the remote recesses of the pit (the region of the dead). ” (Isaiah 14:13-15, Amplified)
When a person begins to compare themselves with another person, they lose sight of the vision and purpose God called them to achieve and they begin to pursue a false vision. Hagar was assigned as a helper for Sarah but because she was already hooked to the bait of covetousness and comparison, she lost sight of her purpose as a helper of Sarah and began pursuing the vision of being a helpmate of Abraham. Eventually, she lost her place in such a great destiny.
3. Opportunity
When a person yields to the temptation to compare themselves to another person, they will soon realize that in life, there are people that do things better than they do and if not tamed at this stage, it will lead to competition. There is a certain pressure that wells up on their inside to overcompensate by trying to outdo another or try to prevent the rising of another if they’re unable to outdo them. They look for every opportunity possible and when the opportunity opens up, they strike. This is the very definition of an evil plot! Covetousness or envy always leads to an evil ending, if not tamed or controlled because this is fuelled by the very nature of the devil. Joseph’s brothers were so jealous of him and when the opportunity presented itself, they plotted to kill him.
“18 And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Look, here comes this [a]dreamer. 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the [b]pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], ‘A wild animal killed and devoured him’; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!” (Genesis 37:18-20, Amplified).
How to Deal with Covetousness
Have a Gratitude List
This can be a journal (hard copy or electronic) or something you incorporate during your daily devotions with God. Ask the help of the Holy Spirit to help you discover the blessings that are right in front of you and as you discover them, write them out and give God thanks for them. Remember, your current situation is a prayer point for another person.
2. Realize God is Not Done With You
Regardless of wherever you are in life, that is not your final stop in life. God still has more glorious things in store for you and this is the reason why He reminds us in Proverbs 4:18 that you’re moving from one level of glory to another, meaning it only gets better and better. When discouragement tries to raise its ugly head, remind yourself that God is not through with you.
“But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn, That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day. (Proverbs 4:18, Amplified)
3. Deliberately Celebrate the Strengths and Victories of Others
We are reminded in Romans 12:15, to rejoice with those who rejoice. Whenever someone you’re jealous of is celebrated, deliberately choose to celebrate their victories and big wins. Notice their strengths and deliberately give them a compliment for it. This shifts your mindset from one of competition and you will begin to see them as an ally (one that complements you) as compared to a competitor.
4. Refocus and Self-Date
After celebrating the strengths and victories of others, refocus on why God has created you and your vision. Many times, people get fixated on others and they are less aware of the strengths God has put on the inside of them. This was the lesson Jesus Christ was trying to teach Peter when he was fixated on John the Beloved (John 21:20-22). If you don’t have a list of the amazing qualities God has put on the inside of you, it is time to go on a date with yourself! With the help of the Holy Spirit and human authorities, identify the beautiful qualities God has endowed on your inside and you will begin to fall in love with yourself. The more often you do this, this will erode the urge to compare yourself with another person.
5. Revisit Your Why
When God created you, there was a vision and purpose He had in mind for you.
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” (Jeremiah 1:5, New Living Translation)
Revisiting your why, why you were created and the assignment God has given you allows you to focus and remain in your own lane. Many times, as we interact with people and situations, we can get excited and mistakenly begin to run with another person’s vision because of how excited or appealing it sounded. Revisiting your God-given vision helps you identify where you might have missed it and allows you to realign your steps and refocus on your vision. Revisiting your vision frequently rekindles the fire and passion you first got when God gave you that vision. This helps in eliminating distractions including covetousness.
6. Find Your Word Stone
When David was faced with Goliath, he used a stone and slingshot that he was well trained in, to defeat Goliath. Likewise, when the pressure and opportunity flood your mind to yield to covetousness, the spirit of God on the inside of you can only raise a standard against it if you are filled with the right word to deal with the spirit of covetousness. You need to be equipped with the revealed word stone that can be slung back at the enemy when he presents opportunities for covetousness. It is not just memorizing the word of God but gaining a deep revelation of what that word is. This was the strategy Jesus used when dealing with the temptations from the devil. He kept replying, “It is written” and eventually, the enemy left Him for another opportune time (Matthew 4:1-11). My spiritual dad says, “you can only fight a spirit with a spirit” and the word of God is spirit and life.
“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63, New Kings James Version)
Dealing with covetousness is not something that can be done in human strength alone. It takes the help of the Holy Spirit to empower one in tackling such tendencies. Accessing the Holy Spirit is a gift from God when a person gives their life to Jesus Christ and allows Him to be their Lord and Savior. If you will like to take this wonderful step today, please say this prayer after me:
“Lord Jesus Christ, I believe you are the Son of God and I believe You died for me on the cross of Calvary. I know I am a sinner and today, I come to You to forgive me for all my sins and to make me a brand-new creation. I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour. Thank you, Lord, for forgiving me and making me born again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Congratulations!!!! You are now born-again! This means you are part of the family of Jesus Christ. If you made this decision, I would love, love to hear from you today and provide resources for your new journey! Please leave a comment on this post or reach out to me at https://www.cccghq.org/contact-us
By: Pastor Ibukun Adewusi