WELLS IN THE WILDERNESS
by Prophet Dwayne Howard
Gen 21:19 – Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
In this historical story, Hagar was in a dire situation. Removed from her home and struggling to keep her son Ishmael alive, she had just about given up on life. As she resigned to imminent death in the desert heat, the Word of the Lord came to her and hope sprung alive in her heart. Immediately following, something interesting happened. The Bible said God opened her eyes, and before her was a well of water. Now here was Hagar and her son about to die in the Wilderness of Beersheba of thirst, and you’d think they would have made this discovery already. However, the Bible didn’t say that God created a well there or dropped it out of heaven, but He opened her eyes to see the way of escape that was already before her. This story is very significant for us as a nation at this time.
The trajectory of trial and tragedy that we have found ourselves in as a nation has a remedy. A remedy waiting to be unfolded through the wisdom of God. As a nation we have long looked to what is outside of us for our financial strength and providence. Succeeding the sugar industry, tourism has indeed been a treasure trove for us over the years, but let me say it is not the only resource that God has given to this majestic Rock we call home. As we face what seems like our own wilderness in this season, and the desert heat in the form of varying vices acts to make us wither, there are wells of resources that are before us to which the Lord will open our eyes. Hagar’s initial attitude about her wilderness almost succeeded in clouding her vision, thus preventing her from seeing the resource that was always before her. However, she cried out to God along with the lad, and He heard their cry. In the same way, our attitude in this trial will determine our altitude. We can grumble, complain and point fingers, or we can ask the God of all creation to open our eyes to the creative abilities that are already before us and accessible to us. God didn’t create a well in the moment, but He opened Hagar’s eyes to see the well of resource that was already before her. Her dire disposition only clouded its visibility, but once she heard the word of the Lord and arose in hope, her eyes were made well-attuned to what was already there. A well whose resource preserved the life of her very child.
In this season as a nation, God’s desire is to open our eyes as a people to the potential that is already before us. That we would truly see the value He has placed in us as a people, and the potential of our creativity. I believe we are all being called to a higher place of responsibility, to take action on the gifts, dreams and abilities that God has blessed us with. A close eye must be kept on the creative, technological and entrepreneurial sector, and as a nation we must duly let down our buckets into such wells to draw out their potential. Our buckets represent our investments, and like water from the well, their potential will result in us not only surviving, but thriving. Unconventional methods for unconventional times will be the maxim of the day. The growth of this sector will attract the eyes of the nations, and will create greater investment from both local and international developers, especially from Canada, the UK, and the European continent. New nations will appear as major players in our waters, but old bonds will prove key. However, inasmuch as we open our doors to foreign benefit, it is critical that Barbados keeps a great measure of its investment targeted upon the development of its people who will further push the envelope for greater national prosperity. Another eye should be kept on our educational sector. There is reform coming to our approach, application and methodology. As with the productivity and acceleration produced when a highway is filled with many lanes as opposed to one, an emphasis on growing our educational branches, especially at the elementary and primary school level, will expose worth in the hearts of our youth and give them a sense of purpose. Our learners will no longer be passive but they shall be pioneers, as they see their worth and actualize where their strengths lie from a young age. Barbados will be known as a hotspot for pioneers whose creativity and wit will not only touch the nations, but feed them. As Silicon Valley is to the United States of America, Barbados’ capacity will be seen in similar light once we capture the window of opportunity that is before us. There is much at stake here, too much that cannot be afforded for us to miss.
Let us remember that it is often easier to grumble than it is to grow. You may be tempted to point fingers at this time, but remember the one you point at others results in three others pointing back at you. Therefore let us look inward and stir up the gifts that have been given to us. God is still the Judge of the earth, and the day will come when we will all be held accountable in regards to what we were given opportunity to steward. Poor stewards will be rewarded in kind, and great stewards will be rewarded in kind. As a people, the hour is upon us to be great stewards, having our eyes open to the wells in our wilderness; wells that will launch us into a new dimension of destiny. Therefore I implore you, “Cry out to God, Barbados!” For He desires to show you your well in the midst of this wilderness.
