I sat across from the optician who was showcasing the frames that the local food bank program could offer at no charge. This isn’t how it was supposed to be, I told myself.
I was carrying deep sorrow over facing this difficult season — alone as a newly single mother to an infant, with no family to lean on and without sufficient financial resources to secure my essential needs. I was dealing with the repercussions of another person’s decision that had blindsided me. My reality spun with broken dreams and a million questions.
I selected a frame and received a complimentary eye exam while trying to keep my 8-month-old daughter entertained. I could at least try to prevent my baby from getting restless – but containing my own restlessness was a challenge.
The optician must have noticed the deep sadness and anguish in my eyes while examining them. Just as she finished the exam and instructed me to return in an hour, she paused and looked into my eyes – almost as if she was looking into my soul. Then she gently placed her hand on my wrist and reassured me that everything would be okay, offering comfort to my weary soul.
As promised, my glasses were ready within an hour. I collected my new glasses, which brought visual clarity to things I had previously missed. Once we finished the appointment, the optician handed me some paperwork, accompanied by a card. She recommended that I check the card at home, and then quickly showed me the door.
Unable to resist my curiosity, I opened the card shortly after arriving at my bus stop. The card read, “Everything will be okay, Happy Holidays.” Inside was a grocery store gift card that would help me cover some essentials for my little girl and me.
God had seen me and provided for me.
In Genesis, Hagar is introduced as Sarai’s maidservant, whom Sarai gave to Abraham to conceive a child. This was Sarai’s desperate attempt to control and speed up God’s promise that she would have a child in her old age – and it was not happening quickly enough. Sarai’s plan “worked” and Hagar became pregnant with Ishmael. However, this decision ultimately led to conflict when the Lord fulfilled His promise to Sarai when she became pregnant with Isaac. After Isaac’s birth, Sarai had Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away.
Alone in the wilderness, Hagar felt overwhelmed by despair and the fear of death for herself and her young son. She was caught in a situation she had no control over, bearing the weight of someone else’s decision. Yet, in her deepest distress, the Lord listened to her cries, came to her in her moment of need, and showed her a well of water that sustained them both.
“God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, ‘What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.’ Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink.”
Genesis 21:17-19 CSB
God powerfully showed His steadfast care and compassion for Hagar and Ishmael, not only by responding to their moment of despair and meeting their immediate needs, but also by promising a hope and a future for Ishmael.
Oh, friend, I really appreciate this reminder. I wonder if sometimes life’s challenges feel overwhelming because the weight of our current struggles makes us lose sight of the hope and promise Jesus has given us for the future. Just as my glasses helped me see clearly what I had missed, and just as God opened Hagar’s eyes to see the well, my prayer is that He will also open our eyes to recognize our salvation through His Son, Jesus.
In your times of desperation, tears, unmet expectations, and failures, He sees you too. He notices everything. The Psalmist expressed this beautifully in Psalm 56:8 NLT: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
Our unchanging and faithful God has always been there for you and always will be. Just as He provided for me as a single mother and saw my needs when I felt all alone, He also saw Hagar and cared for her in the middle of the suffering she didn’t cause herself.
Friend, Jesus also sees you, and even if your faith feels insufficient today, I stand in faith with you. Declaring that your salvation has come and that there is hope and a future ahead for you, too.
May He open the eyes of our hearts to see Him today.
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I am so sorry for what you have gone through. But how amazing how God provided for you at the exact moment. That line from Psalm 56 is reassuring and one that I need to keep in my heart. Why is it so easy for me to forget that God is there if I just open my heart and trust.
I think we all struggle with forgetting at times, but it’s so comforting to know that the Lord never forgets and is always near. May the Lord continue to strengthen you as you trust Him.
I explain my limited sight as “I can’t count your wrinkles but I can tell if you’ve lost or gained weight”. What a tremendous comfort that El Roi is my vision! That name for God means allot more today than it did before I woke up blind months ago! Blessings! (((0)))
Ruth, I am grateful for you sharing, and I pray that today, more than ever, you will see with your heart the presence of God.
Thank you, Ligia! I needed this reminder of God’s faithfulness!
Amy, I am glad these words resonated with you. May the Lord bless you today and always.
Dear Ligia……..What a wonderful way to start my day, reading your devotion. It filled my heart with more HOPE that my serious struggle that I have been living in for almost 5 years now. I pray so much during the day and night to help me somehow and I often ask God if He hears me. My story is too long to type or take up too much of your time, but I am sure Ligia you will understand. I am alone in a senior facility with 100 people. Why am I alone? My husband has dementia (the violent type) and would not take the medication that they gave him and they also told him he needed to stop drinking all together. No alcohol !! He would not and just increased his drinking as he denied that he was fine. I contacted my 54 year old son and asked for help. He told me I was lying and there was not anything wrong with his father and he also told me that due to my lies, he no longer considered me his mother and that I could never see or talk to my one grandchild ever again. I was crushed and heartbroken as my grandson was only 11 then and now in 2 weeks he will be 15. They have cut off all communication except the US Mail, but any card I send, they intercept and destroy them before my grandson gets home from school. Two weeks ago, my son sent me an email that was so filled with obscene things about me that were not true and names he called me were just unwriteable here. I have only read it one more time, but Ligia I believe I know why they hate me. It is due to me being a Christian and they think because of that I belong in a mental institution. They have no faith, they don’t believe and they think people that do are nuts. What a strike that did to my heart. How can I deal with this Ligia? I am 78 years old and have no other family, no one to help me to even go to the store and carry my grocery bags or help me do my laundry just to name a few. My son was not brought up that way nor was his wife. They just say it is money grubbers that don’t know what they are doing is so wrong. My now ex-husband’s dementia has progressed and even though he says there is nothing wrong, when I went to see him as no one would tell me how he was, he did not recognize me and said to go away. Eventually I told him my full name. No light came to his glance that he gave to me. There is too much more to write, but can our Lord somehow get us reconciled so I can at least talk to my grandson? He has not given we an answer, but I still know that He works behind the scenes and the wait can be long. I thank you with all my heart for your story, Ligia. It has helped me. I have problems forgetting this whole thing due to the seriousness of all the things that are connected to this. I wish you a blessed week and send you my love………Betsy Basile
Betsy, I am sorry to hear about this heartbreaking situation, but I am encouraged to know that you continue to trust a faithful God to whom nothing is impossible. Standing in faith, believing for healing in your family.
Thank you dear Ligia for sharing your story. I needed to hear it this morning. May the Lord bless you more than you can contain! God is indeed faithful and wonderful! MayHe bless you abundantly!
Thank you for your kind words, Donna. I praise the Lord for them ministering to your heart today. Be blessed!
This was definitely timely for me today. Thank you. I needed this.
All glory be to the Lord – be encouraged, my friend, the Lord is near.
As a single mother, left to single parenting due to someone else’s decision, I can relate. What a beautiful devotion! The moment I realized God loved me and my two girls was the day I was set free and knew we were going to be okay. People sometimes ask me how I did it – my response, “by the grace of God and lots of prayers.” Thank you for sharing!
Oh, Areum, isn’t God so good? He never leaves us or forsakes us. I hold Psalm 27:10 near to my heart; “Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.” CSB. This is a beautiful reminder that all might fail, but our God never does. Blessings friend.
Thank you so much for this. I have been struggling a lot with my faith lately and doubting my salvation lot, but what you said at the end brought hope back to my heart. Thank you so much! If you could be praying that I could get better in my faith and worship, i would appreciate that. Thank you so much!
Love Lola
Dear God, I thank you for Lola and her life. You are the author of her story, and I know you haven’t missed a detail. You see her heart, know her thoughts, and she has never been alone. I pray that as she reads this, she remembers that you are for her, and you will pursue her heart relentlessly because she is precious in your sight. I ask that she draw closer to you each day, and your presence becomes even more real to her as she seeks and worships you. I bless her in your mighty name, amen.