Open Our Eyes

Verse of the day: Gen 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went and filled the bottle with water, and gave drink to the boy.

Oh that the Lord would open our eyes so that we may see the grace that is available to us when we need it most! So often, we are so focused on our circumstances that we lose sight of the Living Water that sticks closer to us than a brother (Prv 18:24), and promised to never leave us nor forsake us (Heb 13:5). Hagar was distressed at that possibility that Ishmael would perish, along with dealing with the fact that she had been cast out (as a result of a choice made for her by Sarah, Abraham's wife, who gave her to him in order that they might have a child, in an attempt to make something come to pass that God had already promised He would do), and completely missed the fact that there was a supply of water nearby that she could use to help herself, and her son, survive. Just a side note that our decisions have consequences that affect others, sometimes adversely, as the case with Hagar. Before accepting Jesus Christ as Savior, we are all spiritually blind. The Holy Spirit will open our eyes to the truth of the Gospel, and convict us, to which we can choose to turn a blind eye to, but that would be to our condemnation (Jn 3:18). Once we have accepted Jesus' offer of eternal life, our eyes are then open to the truth found in God's Word. However, as God's children, we can sometimes be blind to the grace that is right before us when difficult times come (even as a result of our own bad choices) because we focus on the problem, rather than on the One who always has the answers we need. The Living Water, which is Jesus, is always available; as we are told that we can go boldly before the throne of grace in our time of need (Heb 4:16). Let us praise God that we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, and who is always ready to give us what we need to be encouraged, and to be able to continue on in the race set before us. If today we find ourselves in a situation that is causing us to be in distress, let us stop, pray, and ask God to open our eyes to the Source (Jesus) of our strength, peace, and joy. Let us find rest, and refreshment, in our Living Water, and take our eyes off of our circumstances, putting them on the One who is greater than anything we can face in this lifetime.