"And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."
Genesis 21:19-20
These verses are from the story of Hagar and Ishmael. They had been cast off by Abraham to make their own way, and Hagar ran out of water, and was certain that things were hopeless. She put him under a bush and went away to cry, so she wouldn't have to see him die.
I like this deliverance for a couple of reasons. It makes clear that God hears us even when we are cast off, and I really like that what was required was just an opening of the eyes. That seems to happen in the scriptures very often, and it makes me wonder what things we are missing every day, all around us. It also makes the whole idea of God not being able to deliver us seem ridiculous, since there is so much we can't see. There is no way that we could accurately judge that. Obviously God can see so much that we can't, so he would be the one to trust on that subject.
Today, perhaps instead of giving up, as Hagar did temporarily, we should pray to God to open our eyes and show us the way forward. No matter our circumstances, he will hear us, and help us, if we reach out to him and trust him to see what we cannot.
And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer."
Genesis 21:19-20
These verses are from the story of Hagar and Ishmael. They had been cast off by Abraham to make their own way, and Hagar ran out of water, and was certain that things were hopeless. She put him under a bush and went away to cry, so she wouldn't have to see him die.
I like this deliverance for a couple of reasons. It makes clear that God hears us even when we are cast off, and I really like that what was required was just an opening of the eyes. That seems to happen in the scriptures very often, and it makes me wonder what things we are missing every day, all around us. It also makes the whole idea of God not being able to deliver us seem ridiculous, since there is so much we can't see. There is no way that we could accurately judge that. Obviously God can see so much that we can't, so he would be the one to trust on that subject.
Today, perhaps instead of giving up, as Hagar did temporarily, we should pray to God to open our eyes and show us the way forward. No matter our circumstances, he will hear us, and help us, if we reach out to him and trust him to see what we cannot.
No comments:
Post a Comment