Open your eyes - the answer is here
November 10th, 2008“open your eyes-the answer is here”
In a world of discontentment, hopelessness, anxiety, I pray this changes your life.
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“When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, ‘I cannot watch the boy die.’ And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.” Genesis 21:15 (NIV) |
When Hagar ran out of water, anxiety took hold of her entire being. She ran out of what only she could provide in her small skin of water, but she lost sight of the fact that God never runs out of provisions for us. Hagar did what a lot of people do; she simply gave up, turned away, and became so focused on her hopelessness that she could not see the answer to her problem. She seemingly had no place to turn to for help, yet God had other plans.
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“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.” Genesis 21:17 (NIV) |
I find it interesting that God heard Ishmael’s prayers. It makes me wonder if Hagar was so caught up in her misery, and was so overcome, that she could not even pray to God for help. God is faithful. God had promised Hagar in the past that Ishmael would grow up to be the father of a great nation. God seems so far away, though, when we are so bogged down in anxiety and worry. God never leaves us. We turn from Him. He is there, waiting like a patient father.
Notice the solution to Hagar’s problem is within sight of her? Notice that God’s answer was right there in front of her, in the form of a well? When Hagar stopped and listened to God, Hagar was given the answer. When Hagar was depending on Hagar, there was no hope. With God there is hope, and through Christ there is hope for all of us.