The God Who Sees
Do you know and believe that God sees you?
Verse of the Day
Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”
Genesis 16:13
Today’s Devotional
Have you ever questioned whether or not God really sees you?
There is a story in the Old Testament that includes a woman named Hagar. She was an Egyptian slave to Abram and Sarai, who later became known as Abraham and Sarah. God had promised Abram and Sarai that they would have descendants, but he never told them when this would happen. During the waiting, Sarai took matters into her own hands and gave her slave, Hagar, to Abram as a wife so that maybe she could bear children in Sarai’s place.
This is (for me) a cautionary tale of the perils of taking matters into my own hands. Waiting for God to move can be incredibly frustrating. But this story shows me that the consequences for taking charge can be incredibly far-reaching. And…even if we do take matters into our hands, God’s will simply cannot be thwarted and He can redeem my mistakes.
As for Hagar, the consequences of her being thrusted into a marriage with her mistress’s husband and the resulting pregnancy were disastrous. Most of these circumstances were not Hagar’s doing. Hagar did bear some responsibility in how she treated Sarai once she knew she was pregnant. But can we blame her for that? Because of Sarai’s choice to give Hagar to her husband, and because Hagar then became pregnant, Sarai’s reaction is to be jealous and abusive. The Bible says that Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she ran away.
Have you ever wanted to run away from difficult circumstances?
I will let the Bible tell you the rest of the story.
The angel of the Lord found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur. The angel said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s servant, where have you come from, and where are you going?”
“I’m running away from my mistress, Sarai,” she replied.
The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit to her authority.” Then he added, “I will give you more descendants than you can count.”
And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the Lord has heard your cry of distress. This son of yours will be a wild man, as untamed as a wild donkey! He will raise his fist against everyone, and everyone will be against him. Yes, he will live in open hostility against all his relatives.”
Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”
God came to Hagar in the middle of her escape. His instructions were not pleasant: go back, be submissive, and the child you are carrying will be wild and untamed. But there was something about God’s pursuit and acknowledgement of her pain and suffering that touched Hagar’s heart.
We long to be seen. We need to know that we matter to someone. When we learn that we matter to God Almighty, that is amazingly profound.
I heard a short sermon recently about this passage of Scripture, which reminded me that God’s appearance to Hagar shows His extravagance. She was Egyptian, which means she likely was not a worshiper of God. She was a slave, and she was a woman. Yet God sought her out.
In this same way, God seeks out and pursues each one of us to make sure that we know His love for us. Psalm 23:6 says, “Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life”. God sees you. God is pursuing you. Do you believe that is who God is?
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How has God shown you recently that He sees you?
If you don’t have an example, write a prayer asking God to show you that He sees you today.
What does it mean to you to be seen and fully known and loved by God?