When Life Seems Stuck: Waiting for What You Really Want
People keep giving you advice that contradicts itself. Follow your passion but be practical. Take risks but play it safe. No wonder you're confused.
Genesis 21 is for anyone who’s ever felt that ache. It’s for anyone who’s kept showing up, even when it seemed like dreams belonged to other people. This chapter shows how your awareness, your ability to notice and choose, can lead you through sticky, painful waiting seasons—so you finally receive what’s been promised and open up even greater possibilities.
The infinite like a well awareness isn't watching you—it's experiencing through you.
What Happens in Genesis 21?
Let’s look at the main things that happen in this chapter—then we’ll see how each piece actually maps to the journey of awareness, desire, choice, and finally, arrival.
- Sarah finally has her son Isaac after years of waiting and disappointment.
- Abraham celebrates, but conflict comes up with Hagar (Sarah’s servant) and her son Ishmael.
- Sarah asks Abraham to send Hagar and Ishmael away, and Abraham struggles with the decision. He listens when God comforts him.
- God helps Hagar and Ishmael survive in the wilderness and gives them hope for their own future.
- Abraham makes an agreement (a peace treaty) with a local leader, Abimelech, at a place called Beersheba, marking a new chapter of settled life for his family.
Key Verse:
Your calling The bigger awareness speaks through callings—not just what you should do, but who you're becoming in the process. isn't something you find—it's something you build.
The more space you give this bigger awareness, the more guidance flows through your life.
“Yahweh visited Sarah as he had said, and Yahweh did to Sarah as he had spoken. Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.” (Genesis 21:1-2 WEB)
Let’s break it down, part by part—not just as a story from long ago, but as a map for what happens inside you anytime you want something new, run into trouble, and then grow because of it.
Receiving the Impossible: The Arrival of Isaac
Imagine you’ve wanted something so much—real love, your business to finally work, a family, an important breakthrough—and you waited so long that you nearly gave up. Whenever you felt hope, disappointment quickly followed. Yet, a part of you stayed open, even in your quietest, most private moments. You kept noticing little signs. You believed, at least a tiny bit, that maybe, just maybe, it would happen for you.
Sarah’s story is your story here. She held onto a deep longing. All those years of waiting—feeling left out, feeling like it was too late—are moments we all move through when we hope for something real.
Receiving what you want usually arrives at just the right time—not too soon, and not too late. It almost never shows up in the way you expected, either. Instead, it comes when you relax and let yourself feel what’s possible again. Sarah’s laughter when her son is born is like when you finally break through in work, relationships, or even your own feeling about yourself. Sarah’s laughter is pure relief and surprise.
“Sarah said, ‘God has made me laugh. Everyone who hears will laugh with me.’” (Genesis 21:6 WEB)
- This is that rush of emotion when your book finally sells, your new job comes through, or your loved one returns. You remember: “I am capable of receiving good things.”
- But notice: before this arrival, there was deep emptiness and waiting—for Sarah, and for you.
Pause for a moment: What is something you’ve wanted—not just for a day, but for years? What would it feel like to really receive it?
The Inner Conflict: Hagar and Ishmael
The story doesn’t just stop at Sarah’s happiness. Right in the middle of this joy, an old problem comes back. Sarah sees Hagar (Sarah’s servant) and her son Ishmael, and feels jealousy and fear. She asks Abraham to send them away.
“She said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this handmaid and her son! For the son of this handmaid will not be heir with my son, Isaac.’” (Genesis 21:10 WEB)
This moment can feel cold and even cruel if we only read it as a history lesson. But look a little deeper. Every time you receive something new and beautiful in life (the “Isaac” within you), it often triggers old hurts, fears, or ways of thinking (the “Hagar” or “Ishmael” inside you).
You know that feeling when reflecting on finding your true fit from earlier
Consider Rachel, who used her waiting period to prepare so thoroughly that when opportunity came, she was ready.
- The cycle continues: finally reached a goal—only to instantly start worrying you’ll lose it, or someone will take it away?
- Reality check: celebrated a new relationship, business win, or breakthrough—then suddenly feared you couldn’t keep it?
Your awareness widens, and you notice there are different “parts” inside you. One part is ready for new happiness, and one is tangled up in old stories, survival fears, and disappointment. This happens to everyone:
- When you start to succeed, the part of you that’s been struggling or “on the outside” may feel threatened. It wants to know: “Will there be enough for me?”
- You might judge yourself, doubt your right to have good things, or feel guilty for leaving your old self behind.
This is what Sarah’s anxiety shows. She wants her happiness to be safe—so she tries to push away the uncomfortable part.
These inner dramas are not bad; they’re just part of how we grow. Being aware of both the joy and the fear helps you choose what to focus on.
Making a Hard Choice: Abraham’s Awareness Grows
Abraham, Sarah’s husband, is torn by this. He loves both sons. When Sarah asks him to send Hagar and Ishmael away, he feels deeply troubled. Yet, he listens for inner guidance—the deeper wisdom that’s bigger than his worries.
“God said to Abraham… ‘Don’t let it be grievous in your sight because of the boy, and because of your handmaid. In all that Sarah says to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be named through Isaac. I will also make a nation of the son of the handmaid, because he is your offspring.’” (Genesis 21:12-13 WEB)
This is what happens in you when you hit a tricky moment—when you have to make a real choice. Abraham’s struggle is like choosing between two direction The bigger awareness speaks through callings—not just what you should do, but who you're becoming in the process.s, both with feelings attached. You pause, go quiet, and listen for something deeper than just panic or habit. It’s the moment you trust that your good isn’t just limited to what you see right now.
Do you ever ask yourself: What is the wise thing to do here—not just for my comfort, but for everyone involved? Can I trust that letting go of what no longer fits will actually create something bigger for everyone?
Your persistent mental images become your persistent life experiences.
Abraham teaches us that sometimes, real growth requires a hard choice—even if it means letting go of something you once cared for. But whatever you release is also taken care of, in its own way.
Hagar’s Despair and Breakthrough: When You Feel Lost
When Hagar is sent away with Ishmael, she feels abandoned—lost in the wilderness, without hope. She gives up, thinking her son won’t make it. But in that lowest moment, something shifts inside her. She lifts her eyes, and becomes aware of a well of water she never saw before. It saves both of them.
“God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.” (Genesis 21:19 WEB)
When you’re completely stuck—when you feel like everything’s over, or you’ve made a mistake you can’t recover from—your awareness finds a way forward. Sometimes, what you most need (your “well of water”) has been right there, waiting for you to notice.
- Real-life example: An entrepreneur thinks their business is about to fail, but only then do they finally see a new opportunity, a partner, or a new way of working they never considered—in their “wilderness moment.”
- A creative person feels ready to quit their project, but then, in a quiet walk or moment of sadness, a completely new idea appears that makes the struggle worth it.
Are you willing to look up, breathe, and check if something new is possible—especially when you want to give up most?
The more you experiment, the more 'coincidences' appear.
Making Peace: Abraham’s New Agreement
At the end of Genesis 21, Abraham makes a peace agreement with a leader named Abimelech at Beersheba. This is more than just a practical arrangement. It’s a symbol of finally being able to settle, plant deeper roots, and enjoy your promised place.
You reach a point where you’re not just striving, running, or panicking. Instead, you make peace—with others, with your past self, and with the life you have now. This is when you’re able to share your gift, open up to bigger adventure, and start seeing your hard-won dream as the starting point for more growth.
“Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting God.” (Genesis 21:33 WEB)
Planting a tree is a real act anyone can understand: it means “I plan to be here. I’m ready for slow, lasting growth.”
Fun pop culture context: Imagine someone like authors who face dozens of rejections before success, the well-known football player famous for choosing faith and perseverance even after huge career setbacks. He ended up building a peaceful, meaningful life beyond sports because he kept showing up, making new choices, and believing every struggle could lead to something better—even if the “team” changed. Abraham’s moment is like that: a real agreement with who he’s becoming.
What Genesis 21 Teaches About Your Inner World
- Sarah’s waiting is that part of you that’s still hoping, even when it hurts.
- Isaac, the child of promise, is the new happiness, dream, or breakthrough that finally shows up after much waiting and inner work.
- Hagar and Ishmael are the old stories, the survivor in you, the part that’s worried there won’t be enough. They can’t stay in charge anymore, but they are still taken care of when you let go.
- Abraham’s awareness helps everyone grow—he holds both the new dream and the hard goodbye together until clarity comes.
- Beersheba, and the peace there, represents finally arriving at a place where you can live with yourself, the past, and your future, all at once.
In all of these, life isn’t just “happening” to you. You are moving through different states inside—waiting, receiving, letting go, trusting, and building peace. Each character is a part of you. When you pause, feel, imagine, and choose, your awareness grows, and suddenly, what you need and want both show up—right there in your ordinary life.
Try This Now: The Well Exercise
Tonight or the next time you feel stuck, do this:
- Pause for a full minute. Take a breath. What is the biggest thing you want right now?
- Notice if any old stories, fears, or doubts are coming up—just like Sarah, Hagar, or Abraham.
- Ask: “Is there something I’m not seeing yet—some idea, help, or next step that’s right here, but I haven’t noticed?”
- Trust that what you need is possible to find. Don’t force the answer. Often, it appears after you relax and return to your regular day.
You are moving through your own Genesis 21 any time you long for something real, face an inner conflict, make a hard choice, and then settle into a new season. Every time, your awareness grows bigger, and so does your life.
What’s Next?
In the next chapter, something surprising happens with Abraham and Isaac—a test that many people have wondered about for centuries. It’s about trust, sacrifice, and what you’re really willing to let go of to grow. It will teach you how your deepest hopes can lead you into the most important decisions of your life.
Your relationship with anything is the invisible container shaping what it can become.
Remember: You don’t have to do it all perfectly. You just have to keep noticing, keep choosing, and stay open to what’s possible. In every new chapter of your life, there’s a well waiting for you—sometimes in the wilderness, sometimes in the promised land. You’ll see it when you’re ready.
