Hagar and her son Ishmael find themselves in the desert of Beersheba after being chased away by Abraham.
They are short of water, and Hagar is desperate for her son’s life.
As she is leaving so as not to see her son die, an angel of God calls her and tells her that God has heard the child’s voice.
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 21:19) Thus their lives were saved.
The text does not explicitly say whether the well discovered by Hagar already existed or whether it was miraculously created by God at that precise moment. This passage only tells how Hagar, after wandering in the desert with her son Ishmael, finds herself without water and in despair, mourning the imminent death of her son.
It is then that God hears the voice of the child and sends an angel to comfort Hagar and open her eyes to a well of water. If the well discovered by Hagar already existed but Hagar simply did not notice it in her despair until God guided her to it, it is a lesson and proof that in times of crisis, God can open our eyes, awaken our intelligence and our attention so that, to ourselves, we discover the solutions that already exist around us and the ways out.
And if this well was miraculously created by God at that precise moment to save Hagar and Ishmael, it is also a lesson and proof that in the event that we find ourselves faced with the impossible, God can intervene in a miraculous way to save us.
In any case, this passage teaches us that those who are today desperate like Hagar in the desert of Beersheba, have the right to believe and trust in God, because He is merciful and can never abandon us when others abandon and drive us away.
PRAYER:
Lord our God, grant that we may never lose faith in you and despair when we are in crisis.
It is in the precious name of your son Jesus Christ that we pray, Amen.
Apostle Jean-Claude SINDAYIGAYA