By Olubunmi Adebayo
*An unusual dimension of human history, which is worthy of our reflection, played out in the story of Ishmael the son of Abraham according to Genesis 21:14 – 19 :*
*It was the account of how the only bottle of water meant for him and the mother – Hagar got finished, and how the last bottle of water eventually became the first bottle that lasted them all through.*
*This is the picture : Hagar and her son Ishmael were sent away by Abraham – they had no home, and they started wandering in the wilderness.*
*Not only home were they lacking a home in the wilderness, the two of them had no food – they left home with just bread. But above this, they had no water. The bottle of water got finished after some time of their stepping out on the journey – how much can a bottle of water lasted anyway?*
*And when your bottle of water gets finished in the desert, believe you me, death is really close by :*
*Gen 21: [15] And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the child under one of the shrubs.*
*[16] And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: 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.*
*Hagar placed Ishmael under a bush because she couldn’t bear to watch her son die. She had come to the reality of the “last” bottle of water – a painful terminal moment – no resources anymore, no help, no hope whatsoever, all alone in the desert with a weak and tired out son.*
*Are you at this type of point in your life presently? – No money. No resources. No hope. All options exhausted?*
*This is where the God factor matters :*
*A) God saw through their situation. Remember that both Ishmael and the mother – Hagar were all alone in the wilderness! They had no one to look up to with the exception of God.*
*B) When it seemed as if the end had finally come, God decided to arise for them. At this point, Hagar was crying, Ishmael was too weak, and given up to die.*
*C) God’s timing was after the last drop of water had finished. Know that God often waits until we are at the end of our capacity and expectations.*
*D) The last finally becoming the first :*
*When it seemed as if everything had finished, the angel of God said “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not… Open your eyes and see”.*
*“Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.”Gen 21:19.*
*Please know that the well was there all along. But she couldn’t see it until :*
*i) Her bottle of water was empty, and she stopped trusting her own provision.*
*ii) Her eyes were opened, and God had to reveal the way forward to her.*
*iii) She was desperate enough to look up to God as the only source of her provision.*
*Always remember that God is a Specialist in “Last minute” miracles -the water finished so the well could be located and appreciated.*
*Let me ask you a hypothetical question – “how many bottles of water do you think we get out of the well God has provided”?*
*Each time we come to our “Last”, God is preparing His own New Beginning for us if we trust him.*
*Always realize that because you are lacking in wants, does not mean that God cannot provide what you are in need of – the storehouse of God is not too far away but you just need to be connected to Him as the source of all provisions.*
*No matter what you are going through,don’t assume it’s over. The end of your resources is often the starting point of God’s eternal plans and purposes.*
*Request God to open your eyes. There may be wells around you that you have not bordered to ask God to open your eyes to.*
*When the last drop is gone, that is when God positions you to receive your “first” from Him.*
*This is not necessarily because you struggled, but because He is a faithful God.*
*Let this keep ringing in your ears : “He (God) raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes”- 1 Samuel 2:8.*
Top of the day to you 👍
©️ Olubunmi S Adebayo.
