“Then God opened her (Hagar’s) eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy (Ishmael) a drink.”- Genesis 21:19
In Chapter 14 (“I Can See: Your Valley May Be Your Vision”) of Wounded by God’s People, Anne Graham Lotz tells of an eight-month period in her life during which all three of her children got married, her mother was rushed to the hospital five times with life-threatening illnesses, and a hurricane left her without electricity for six weeks. For Anne it was a period of deep depression, utter exhaustion, and spiritual dryness.
Yet as Anne encountered Jesus in a fresh way, her valley became the place of her vision. Anne encourages us that if we are in a valley, we need to open our eyes to what God may be trying to show us. We can’t allow our woundedness or weariness to blind us from God-ordained opportunities. Just like Hagar, when God opens our eyes we have to take the responsibility to look, to see an opportunity or possibility we hadn’t seen before. In the process we move forward into the future God has planned for us.
This excerpt from The Valley of Vision, a compilation of Puritan prayers, says it all:
“Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy life in my death,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley.”
Today’s question: What glimpses or full-fledged sightings of revitalized ministry or vocation have manifested themselves on your healing journey? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The beginning of the end?”
