A Well of Water - One Year Devotions for Women

Then God heard the boy’s cries, and the angel of God called to Hagar from the sky, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy’s cries from the place where you laid him.” - Genesis 21:17

Have you ever been crying so hard that you’ve been blinded to the help that is right under your nose? Hagar knew about that. Rivalry between Sarah and Hagar had become so intense that Sarah demanded that Hagar and Ishmael be sent away.

Abraham had sent Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness. It was very hot, and the water they had been given was soon gone. Hagar left her son under a bush and, going a little distance away, waited for him to die. She couldn’t bear to watch him suffer: “She burst into tears. Then God heard the boy’s cries” (Genesis 21:16-17). It doesn’t say that God heard Hagar’s voice; it says that God heard the boy’s cries! Then God asked her, “Hagar, what’s wrong? Do not be afraid! God has heard the boy’s cries from the place where you laid him” (Genesis 21:17).

Have you ever been so busy crying that you couldn’t pray? Maybe you need to dry your tears and hush your voice to listen in expectancy. Our cries can block out the voice of God, and our tears can blind us to the well of water that is right under our nose. God is waiting to show us the solution to our problem. There will always be a well of living water available to help us cope with our distress. We just need to stop crying long enough to see it.

For Further Study: Genesis 21:1-21

Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.

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