The Well

At the beginning of the New Year, I reluctantly made yet another resolution to read my Bible more.  Unfortunately, the first month of this year I had the flu!  While I didn’t like being ill, I found myself with ample time to read my Bible alone in my room! Thank you, Jesus!  I guess the Lord has to get us to be still sometimes, right?

As I began my journey in the Bible, I became excited to read more every day.  The Bachelor cannot even compare to how much drama is in Genesis! One such story filled with so much drama includes Abraham, Sarah, & Hagar.  Hagar was the servant of Sarah, Abraham’s wife, who became pregnant with his first son.  It’s like a soap opera, right?!  Sarah was desperate for her husband to have a son.  She did not trust the Lord would give her a son from her own body, so she intervened.  However, after Hagar became pregnant, Sarah became jealous of her, and banished her from her home.  Hagar found herself alone crying in the wilderness, when the angel of the Lord found her beside a well (Genesis 16:7).

Upon reading this story, I had to just pause and reflect on how many times in my life I have felt like Hagar--alone and in the wilderness...  Maybe you’re in a season where you can relate?  You feel alone, empty, and in the wilderness...  Or perhaps you know of a woman walking in a wilderness experience of her own right now?

However, as I kept reading in Genesis 16, Hagar discovered she wasn’t alone.  The angel of the Lord came to Hagar at the well in the wilderness and blessed her by declaring she was pregnant with a son, to be called Ishmael, which means, “God hears!” God heard Hagar’s cries and sadness.  He hears our cries too—no matter where we are.  He hears and inclines His ears to us.  What bothers me bothers Him.  Nothing is too small or too big to take to God at the well. 

In Genesis 16:13, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord who had spoken to her.  She said, “You are the God who sees me.  Have I seen the One who sees me?”  So that well was named, “Well of the Living One who sees me.”  It can still be found in the same wilderness today.  

Isn’t that beautiful? 

Hagar sat down by the well in the wilderness cursed by Sarah, but she got up blessed by, “The God who sees me!”

I’ve decided this new year reading through scripture is not about a resolution to complete, but more so about revelation.  God sees me, AND He desires for me to see Him, too! I believe the Lord wants to meet the women of TCAL at The Well.  He sees us. He hears us.  He is waiting to reveal Himself to us and meet our every need.  Join us this Thursday at 7p.m. at  The Well!

Lynzee Bolton