The Thread: Part IISample

The God Who Sees

After fleeing from Abram and Sarai, Hagar found herself facing new difficulties. She was cut off from her household, which was her means of survival, and exposed to the deathly elements of the desert. However, Hagar had an encounter with God that she could not have seen coming.

Let's set the scene: The angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, comforted her, and informed her that she was pregnant with a son. He asked her rhetorical questions (questions he knew the answer to), and she answered him. Then, the angel of the Lord told her to return to her mistress and submit. He also gave Hagar a revelation: she would have a son, and God would greatly multiply her offspring.

The angel told Hagar to name her son Ishmael, "For the Lord has heard your cry of affliction." Can you imagine? If the angel of the Lord told you that God heard you, how in the world would you respond?

The Baker Illustrated Bible tells us what Hagar did: "Now it is Hagar's turn to name somebody. And she names God (16:13)—she is the only one to do this in all the Bible. She calls him 'El-Roi,' meaning 'the God who sees me' or 'God sees me.'" Later, the commentators note, "Hagar ran away from Sarai and ran into God. These names stress not the gift she has received (a child) but the giver of that gift (the God of all gods). A troubled, frightened, pregnant, non-Israelite girl encounters God in a desert and is never the same again." Sometimes we find God in the oddest places. As for Hagar, she was looking for relief and found the God who saw her.

Question: Where in your life do you need to realize that God sees you?

Prayer: Read this prayer over yourself or those with you: "God, you are the God who sees. You saw a servant girl from Egypt in her distress and met her there to heal and encourage her. Please help me trust that you see me too and always desire to heal and encourage me."