And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands ... And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her Thou God seest me.
~ Genesis 16:8, 9, 13a
Thou God Seest Me
Once I was falsely accused by an authority and given very harsh consequences. A friend told me about the cup of bitter waters. When a woman was acused of adultry by her husband he would take her publically to the temple. The priest would take some dirt from the floor of the temple and mix it with some water, The woman had to drink it. If she was guilty of adultry her thigh would rot but if she was innocent she would be blessed with a child.
This time of being falsely accused was very difficult for me but it was also a time of tremendous spiritual growth. It was where I discovered that I really was trusting the Lord completely. It was also when I started my book of rememberance. Eventually I was found innocent and my authorities have said many times that the reason they trust me so much now is because of the way I responded in that situation.
Another very difficult thing though was when I had to go back and work for the one who had falsly accused me. I was reminded of how God asked Hagar to return to Sara and serve her after Sara had taken out her anger on Hagar. That's what God was asking of me. He wanted me to go back and serve my authority with my whole heart. That response opened up a whole new demention to my ministry.
