God Opens Our Eyes

Every sports fan remembers the moment they became a superfan of their team. I was in Middle School. The Sacramento Kings were playing the LA Lakers. Western Conference finals. The underdog Kings were taking on Shaq and Kobe. I still remember Mike Bibby hitting clutch shots in the fourth quarter, Vlade Divac and Chris Webber being the best low post passers in the league, and almost beating the team that would go on to win the championship. I became the biggest Kings fan you’ll ever meet.

Any superfan knows, the only option is to become emotionally invested. I could tell you the starting lineup, player’s stats, injuries, and anything else someone could think of. Somehow, my dad let me get the league pass so I’d be able to watch every game even when they weren’t televised. I would stay up late watching games when people would go to sleep. I would get nervous when big games started. A bad loss and the day would be ruined. Why would anyone get into drama at school? I had my own any times the Kings were playing. It’s funny for me to look back on how emotionally invested I get in sports. We all have things that bring us through emotional roller coasters. I’m pretty sure there are 20 seasons of The Bachelor on TV each year. Emotions are a huge part of who we are as humans... and believers.

God created us with emotions. I came to this basic realization a few years ago. For some reason, it always seemed like positive emotions were the only things we were supposed to feel. In reality, we’ve been created with an array of emotions that help us experience life and tell us what’s going on, on a soul level. We weren’t designed to reject what’s going on inside of us. The problem with emotions is when they start to cloud the way we see God. I don’t know about you, but my emotions can sometimes affect how I see God reacting to my situations. When things are going well... God must be present. When it feels like work is great... God must be happy with how we’re performing. When there isn’t any conflict... God must be in these relationships.

But what about the bad days? What about the days where we’re confused? What about the days where we know God loves us, but we just don’t feel like He’s present in each situation? What about the moments in life that we aren’t proud of? Our emotions don’t always tell us the whole story of God.

In the book of Genesis there's a conflict between two people named Sarah and Hagar. God had promised Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son. They couldn’t conceive so they decided to take things into their own hands and Abraham sleeps with Sarah’s maidservant Hagar. Ishmael was born. Abraham and Sarah ended up having a son, on their own, named Isaac. Jealousy started between Sarah and Hagar. They ended up sending Hagar away. Hagar and Ishmael find themselves in the desert alone. Abandoned, not enough food and water, and not knowing how life was going to work out. She thought her son was going to die. Genesis 21:15 says, “When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob. God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from Heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

The next phrase is what sticks out the most to me.

Genesis 21:19a, “Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water...”

It says that Hagar’s eyes were opened. It doesn’t say that God created a well of water. It doesn’t say that God miraculously made a well of water appear out of dry ground. Maybe God did... but it simply says that He opened her eyes. Almost, as if, the well was already there. She needed her eyes opened. We need our eyes opened to the provision and presence of a God that cares more than we even realize. God is more present in our lives and our situations than we even realize. Our emotions might make us feel alone. Our emotions might lead us to doubt. However, we need those moments where we open our eyes and realize that God is with us. Scripture says that He draws us with His loving kindness. God looks at us in complete love and knows every detail that’s going on in our lives.

God is here.

God is for you.

God knows your situation.

God has a future for you.

We can trust Him.