“And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow shot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.” – Gen 21: 15-16

Eventually, the bread and water which Abraham had given Hagar and Ishmael on their way out of his house was spent. There they were in the wilderness with nothing to eat and nowhere go. The inevitable had come upon them. Death was in the neighborhood. They knew it and Hagar could not stand to watch it. In fact, she set her son under a bush, went a little ways from him. The Bible quotes her: “Let me not see the death of the child.” Then, “she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.”

Many single mothers today have been where Hagar was. She was at a point of desperation, depression and death with neither help nor hope in sight. Pretty much all she could do was weep. It is a good thing though that when we have run out of options, God still has plenty of them left. He heard both her voice and the voice of her son, then He came to their rescue.

Here are the directions God gave to Hagar: Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. – Genesis 21: 18-19

1). Arise. First thing. Get up! You may be down, but you are not out. Get up!

2). Lift up the lad. He is nothing to be ashamed of or afraid of. Don’t hide him or put him down. Encourage him. After you get yourself up, lift your son up.

3). Hold him in your hand. His father has already abandoned him. He can’t stand for you to separate yourself from him too. Go hold him. Hug him. Assure him that you are both in this thing together.

4). I will make a great nation of him. Don’t let where you are and what it looks like now cause you to doubt your future. This same boy that you now see under a bush will soon be over nations.

5). Open your eyes and look. Perhaps, it was the tears which prevented her from seeing that all the time she had been crying about having no water, she was actually right near a well. God had to open her eyes and command her to see that her provision was within sight and within reach. This single mother was taught that Jehovah Jireh is called that for a reason. He does provide. He will provide. He has already provided. All you have to do is open your eyes and look!