"And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face. And the angel of the LORD found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude. And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction. And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren. And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me? Wherefore the well was called Beerlahairoi; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered" (Gen. 16:6b-14).
After Hagar (Sarah's servant) conceived a child by Abraham with Sarah's consent,(don't try this at home) she looked upon her mistress with contempt. Sarah was not happy about this and began to treat Hagar so harshly that she packed her bags and ran off. While on the run Hagar was no doubt scared and alone when she stopped by a spring of water. There the angel of the Lord appeared unto her to encourage her to return to her mistress and submit unto her, with the promise that God would make of the child in her womb a mighty nation. Upon hearing this promise from God, Hagar called the Lord, El Roi meaning, the God who sees.
Notice also that the people of God also named the well were Hagar learned that God was watching over her, Beer-lahai-roi. Beer-lahai-roi means, the well of the Living One who sees me. This well became a memorial to the people of God of one of the great attributes of God that they needed to be reminded of. Like Hagar found it difficult to deal with Sarah and chose to run away, we too will be tempted to run from our problems and take what we think will be the easy way out.
I heard someone say today that we have two museums down in our hearts. One museum holds paintings, statues and historical reminders of all the bad stuff that has happened to us in our lives. Some of it are own doing and some of it not. When visiting this museum it's vital if we would benefit from it to take two tools with us. These two tools are called repentance and forgiveness. Be ready to repent of things that you have suffered because of sin in your life and be ready to forgive others who have caused some of that hurt that is found in this museum. The other museum houses all the historical reminders of God's faithfulness in our lives, all his provision, protection and the many times he has seen us through the hard stuff. In this museum we need to bring with us the tools of praise and thanksgiving as we are reminded of all that God has done for us.
We are so quit to worry about the future but so absent minded of God’s past faithfulness. If you’re like me and have a tendency to forget, try keeping a journal to recall what God has done and to record what he continues to do in your life. It’s been said, “The weakest ink is better than the best memory.” Do you find yourself in a lonely or dark place? God sees you and he wants you to know that he's with you. He will never leave you or forsake you (Heb. 13:5). Don't doubt in the dark what God has shown you in the light. In the hard times trust that God has a plan for your life and he will see you through.
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