And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. (Gen. 16:9 KJV)
It is a mystery why God told Hagar to return to Sarah her mistress. Mystery is not misery. It is tenable and plausible to perceive God as a God of mystery but God is not behind the misery of anyone rather He makes mysteries from the miseries of anyone who encounters Him. It is error and the clandestine deception of the wicked to replace God as the punitive author of the miseries in the World or the local life of anyone rather I know this, God can in His mysterious ways make “lemonade from the lemons” of life’s imperious experiences. Yes God can.
Mystery is not an event or thing that is unknown; rather it must be unveiled to be understood. Whereas others may be perplexed and paralyzed by the witty, winding and often deviously perceived twist of Mysteries, a man of understanding with notable calmness having gained the truth that the unexplained complexity of mystery is occasioned by the covert need to secure the subject from wreck less interruptions and disruptions its apparent visibility may attract. This is the Wisdom of God.
In essence, Mysteries are hidden truths meant for people who would dare to “raise the veil” to gain the pleasure of its woven texture. Praise the Lord!
Paul said, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” 1 Cor. 2:7-8. We could see clearly if truly we understand from this scripture that God by mystery, even the hidden wisdom does work to the end that none of the princes of this world would know, and God may accomplish good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.
Unlike the Mystery of God’s will; the hidden or covert wisdom of God’s misery is the calamity occasioned by man’s extremity to please himself outside the divine plan/will of God for him (man). Misery (not Mystery) is the natural outcome of man’s extraction of himself from the Wisdom by which God works His plan in man’s life.
The Bible says this of man, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:11-18). Notice what the Bible says, “Destruction and misery are in their ways…”
Beloved, God surely does work in Mysterious ways to perform His wonders; there are no miseries in His ways. What anyone may perceive or adjudge as “miseries” should be God at work, His covert effort to preserve His doings to the end that the princes of this world may not know what God does.
God had asked Hagar to return to Sarah to fulfill God’s covenant with Abraham in Ishmael being circumcised as a descendant of Abraham.