24th August 2023
Open the eyes of my heart.
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 (NIVUK)
Have you ever completed a word search? Here’s one for you:
Open, The, Eyes, Of, My, Heart.
How did you get on? Whenever I do a word search it always seems as if I miss one of the words even though it’s staring me in the face. The answer had been right in front of my eyes all along and yet I missed it.
When Hagar, Sarah’s servant who had given birth to Ishmael, had been sent away from Abraham’s home, she and her son found themselves alone in the desert without food or water. She couldn’t bear to see her son die, so she hid him under a bush, walked away, sat down, and cried. An angel then appeared to Hagar and told her that God had heard her son’s cries and that they both would live. God then opened her eyes to see a well full of water and Hagar and her son were saved.
The implication from the scripture is not that God miraculously created a well of water but apparently, the well had been there all along, only Hagar could not see it. Hagar had the solution right in front of her, but she couldn’t see it until God opened her eyes and helped her see from a different perspective.
There are many problems we face in life for which we don’t have the answer and yet the solution can be there all along in the pages of scripture. We all need the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and open our eyes so we can find answers to our problems in God’s word and through Jesus Christ.
Two verses that are good for us to pray as we seek God’s answers are: ‘Open my eyes to see the miracles in your teachings’. (Psalm 119:18 New Century Version), and ‘Look on me and answer, LORD my God. Give light to my eyes…’ (Psalm 13:3 NIVUK).
The solutions are there as we read, study, and meditate on God’s word, and look to Jesus. My prayer along with Apostle Paul is, ‘…that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people’. (Ephesians 1:18).
Prayer
Father, please open and illuminate the eyes of our hearts to see the wisdom in your word, and the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. May the scriptures be a light to our path and a guide on our way to your Son, in whose name we pray, Amen.
Study by Barry Robinson
About the writer:
Barry Robinson is a minister in Grace Communion International and Regional Pastor for Southern England.
Local congregation:
Grace Communion International Camberwell
The Salvation Army Hall
105 Lomond Grove
Camberwell
London SE5 7HN
Local congregational contact:
Barry Robinson
Email: camberwell@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church