Genesis 16:13–14: “Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, ‘Have I also here seen Him who sees me?’ Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.”

October 1st, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

God promised Abraham he would have children, but as his wife Sarah got older and older, without having a child, she decided that she could have a child thorough her Egyptian handmaid, Hagar. But when Sarah saw that Hagar was pregnant, she became jealous and treated her harshly. So much so that Hagar ran away into the wilderness, feeling completely forsaken. But the Lord graciously appeared to her and promised to take care of her and her child. She called the well of water God provided, Beer Lahai Roi, or literally, “the well of the vision of life.” What was she saying? She recognized that God watched over her and had given her life; and that even though she was running, God found her and kept her alive.

I read an old story written by Pastor H. H. Staton, who was on an ocean liner headed to the Middle East:

Nine hundred miles out to sea, a sail was sighted on the horizon. As the liner drew closer, the passengers saw that the boat, a small sloop flying a Turkish flag, had run up a distress signal. It was lost, and using other flags, it asked the liner for its position at sea. It was through a faulty instrument that the small vessel had become lost. For nearly an hour the liner circled the smaller sail boat, giving its crew correct latitude and longitude.

Naturally there was a great deal of interest in all the commotion among the passengers of the liner. A small boy standing on the deck and watching all that was taking place made a profound statement. He said, “It’s a big ocean to be lost in.” It is a big world for people to be lost in too. All of us at times have gotten mixed up and turned around. We make mistakes and fall into sin. We use people and love things. But God is the Shepherd in search of the one lost sheep.¹

Jesus explained that God is like a woman searching in her dark home, in all the little crevasses, for a valuable coin that is lost (Luke 15:8). God searched for Hagar and found her in the wilderness. He then assured her that God Almighty was aware of her situation. She wasn’t alone and she wasn’t lost. The God of all the universe is watching over us, taking care of us, and searching for us when we wander too far.

“LORD, we are grateful for Your care this day. Use us we ask in Jesus’ name.

¹H.H. Staton, A Guide to the Parables of Jesus