God is giving new vision to fulfill the call that is in front of us
We cannot rely on vision gained in the past. Our current perspective won’t give us what we need to make us able to step into what is coming. We not only need new vision to accomplish what we are called to, we need a fresh empowerment from God. We need fresh impartation from God. Insight instilled with understanding must be accompanied with grace infused power. This is a time to receive the restorative empowerment of God so that we stay on the path God has for us.
This year, 5782, identified with the letter bet, is a time when we could see our pit (baar) transformed into a well (baar). As I pondered about the wells in scripture, one well in particular came to mind. It was the place the angel of the Lord found Hagar when she had run away from Sarai. (Ge. 16) It was the place where a pit of despair was turned into a well of blessing.
Hagar, a servant, handmaiden to Sarai, got snarky with Sarah when she found out she was pregnant by Abram. Sarai in turn treated her harshly. As a result Hagar ran away. (Gen. 16:6) Hagar’s situation was stressful. Whatever it was that drove her to it, she ran. In her current situation, with her current perspective, she was unable to see the blessing God had for her future. Overwhelmed by her circumstances she ran from it. Running away didn’t change the call of God. Avoiding confrontation wouldn’t get her out of a situation God had specifically designed for her. I can almost hear her inner voice saying: “Forget this! I’m going back where I came from! Who needs this *#@#+!!!” She left and headed back to where she came from; Egypt.
She ran until she reached a spring of water in the desert, [ayin hamayim baMidbar al-haayin b’derekh’ Shur]. Along her path of despair, she stopped to quench her thirst. She was on the path toward Shur. It was the road back to Egypt. It was familiar. It had once been home. But, God, being God, interrupted her pity party in order empower her to step forward into her destiny.
Genesis 16:7 AMP ~ But the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, on the road to [Egypt by way of] Shur.
God was about to open her vision. The Hebrew word ayin, translated as spring in the verse above, is the Hebrew word for eye. God was about to open her eyes in a new way. It would change the way she saw things. But first God showed her how He saw her. She was doing what she needed to to survive. God wanted her to more than just survive. He had a plan that included a blessing, a blessing so big she couldn’t comprehend it. When God reveals to us our identity in Him we can’t not be who God has called us to be. Our whole being begins to align with what God has revealed. It’s as if it is engraved on our inner self. How we may have seen ourselves before changes. Once we see ourselves as God see us it can never be unseen.
We only have the written script. We don’t have a video of the encounter. There is no way to convey to someone else the actual experience of the moment. We can describe heavenly encounters. But we can’t cause someone else to experience what we experienced. When the angel of the Lord shows up, what is conveyed is more than mere words. The atmosphere is charged with supernatural energy. It is embedded with substance that is imparted to the recipient. It’s life changing! It is infused with the power and anointing of the Lord.
She didn’t stop to pray. She wasn’t looking for God. She was going back to what she knew before. She was, however, walking away from the call of God on her life. God stopped her from returning to a lesser life. She was on the path back to her old life. But God had more for her. He was not going to sit idly by while she took a path He never intended for her to take. You see, she already had the seed within her, the seed of Abram. Like it or not the seed had already been planted. It was already growing. God was watching over the seed. It would be brought to fullness. She would birth. It would have been different if the seed was not already in her. BUT IT WAS!!!
When the angel of the Lord showed up, he addressed her according to her God given identity and calling. There was no mistaking it. God knew who she was, where she had came from and where she was headed. He knew her intentions. He knew if she continued on this path she would not fulfill her mandate. Nevertheless, He asked:
Ge. 16:8 ~ “Hagar, servant of Sarai,” he said, “where have you come from, and where are you going?”
The messenger delivered God’s message. In the process of this transaction her view of things was altered and she was empowered to finish what was started. She would bring forth what had been planted in her. Hagar had been changed. The evidence of the change is apparent in her actions after the encounter. She was made able to not only accept her current situation with new vision and purpose, but with an empowerment to accomplish it. THAT IS GRACE! It’s grace upon grace. Her pit of despair had been transformed into a well spring.
Genesis 16:13-14 NLT ~ thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered.
The Peshitta Holy Bible translates verse 13: And she called the name of LORD JEHOVAH who spoke with her and she said: “You are God in a vision”, because she said, “Behold, also I saw the vision after it saw me.”
God Sees You
God sees you. He is calling you by name. Your identity hasn’t changed because something you didn’t expect has happened. Don’t give up. Don’t go down that path back to the old version of who you were. God is with you to fulfill all His intentions for your life.
Hagar’s identity was as the handmaiden. Her role was handmaiden. Her calling was handmaiden. Her identity was handmaiden, a shipchah. Shipchah comes from the same Hebrew root as mishpachah, which means family. She was made mishpachah. God saw her as family.
Psalm 123 1-2 I lift up my eyes to You, the One enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes are on the LORD our God until He shows us mercy.
A Word for the handmaidens of the Lord
The servants and handmaidens of the Lord have been under a horrendous amount of stress. Many have fled and are on their way back to old haunts. God sees you and He knows you by name. He will interrupt your plan of retreat just as Jesus did when the disciples went back to their old identity as fishermen. (Read John21)
Have you caught anything? No. That’s because I have something else for you. Only you can’t see it until I shift your paradigm.
The commercial fishermen hadn’t caught any fish. Why? Because God didn’t call them to go backward. He called them to go forward. That morning on the beach, the fisherman became a shepherd. Peter’s pit had been transformed into a well. They had no clue what was in front of them. They only knew what was behind. That day Jesus gave them new vision. Like Hagar, Peter saw the vision after it saw him. Once seen, it couldn’t be unseen.
God is giving new vision to fulfill the call that is in front of us. We cannot rely on vision from the past. Our current understanding needs to be adjusted so we can see what is to come. You may be on a path that leads back to where you came from. You may feel like you have failed at everything. You may have even caused a rather difficult situation for yourself. Don’t worry. God has a plan. He is coming with grace upon grace to meet you where you are. He is bringing the seed within you to fullness. It’s time to come forth!
Oh, God open our eyes. Cause us to see as we are seen by You. Impart to us all that we need to fulfill the destiny upon our lives. Infuse us with Your grace and power. Empower us to bring forth. In Jesus’ name! Amen!
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