God Sees You

"Abram replied, 'Look, she is your servant, so deal with her as you see fit.' Then Sarai treated Hagar so harshly that she finally ran away. The angel of the LORD found Hagar beside a spring of water in the wilderness, along the road to Shur...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." "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 16:6-7, 11, 13 (NLT)

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by life, in a tight or impossible spot with no help in sight and then, on top of that, alone...overlooked, like no one understands, sees, or cares? That is exactly where Hagar found herself. She was a servant, kicked out by her mistress, alone in the wilderness, pregnant. Yet, it was in these circumstances that Hagar meets and sees God like she never has before. And she gives us insight into WHO God is and what He is like even to an average everyday woman and mom.

After God gives Hagar a glimpse into her future, she responds by saying, "You are the God who sees me." I don't think she was impressed by the fact that He saw a traveling woman there by the springs of water unaccompanied and likely distraught, as other travelers passing by might see her. No, she was impressed because He saw to her very heart and all that encompassed. This so impressed her that she gave God a name we haven't seen in Scripture before, "The God who sees me".

You can rest assured that God sees you, too. You may feel invisible and overlooked by others in this world, but God sees. He sees you when you are checking the monitors all throughout the night. He sees you when your child is having a meltdown, again. He sees you when you can't bear to think about the future and what it holds for your child. He sees you when this last option therapy or procedure didn't work. He sees you when you just want a shoulder to cry on and there isn't one. He sees you. He sees all of it and He is there for you. It's WHO He is. He hears your cry of distress and He sees you.

God gave Hagar the name for her son, Ishmael, meaning "God hears" because He heard Hagar's cry of distress. Is there anything burdening your heart today that you need to cry out to God and tell Him? Go ahead, He's listening. Truly listening to hear your heart, your hurts, your worries, your anger, your doubts, your fears.

God Who Sees, thank you for seeing me.