So she named the Lord who spoke to her: “You are El-Roi” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?”. That is why the place is called Beer-lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh and Bered. – Genesis 16:13
“The Lord who sees me”
So here’s the gist
Sarah, had willingly given her maid to her husband so that she could have children through her maid (Hagar). Well, in typical fashion, Hagar started growing horns immediately after she got pregnant. Aunty Sarah in this case did not exhibit traits we expect from a godly woman. She returned the disrespect with maltreatment. The situation became so terrible that Hagar had to run away. She reached a spring and while catching her breath, an angel appeared to her.
There’s this illusion that God is absent when we are facing troubles. That He doesn’t care about our struggles and is only interested when we’re prosperous. We are in a world riddled with pain, suffering and torment and sometimes it is hard to comprehend that God actually sees it all. It is hard to understand that a kind God will sit and watch His children suffer the way some of our siblings in the faith suffer.
The root cause of suffering in the world is a broad topic, one we will look at in another post.
Some blame would also go to the type of Christianity we have been sold. One where from glory to glory is actually interpreted to mean from riches to riches. One where the entirety of our success is how much we own and how problem-free we are.
A similar situation happened when the Israelites suffered under Egyptian rule. They prayed, cried, and hoped God eventually showed up after 430 years.
The people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had paid attention to them and that he had seen their misery, they knelt and worshipped. – Exodus 4:31
Whenever I hear testimonies of how God came through for people, I am amazed at how kind God is.
How He brings deliverance to a family after years of struggle.
How He sends a Word of scripture to a mind that wants to explode with worry.
It is like a warm hug on a cold day.
How He sends prophetic words to people just at the moment when they need it. Now I understand why people cry when they’re receiving a prophetic word. Like you mean, God sees all of the things I do? The big and small? The cute and messy? The nice and ugly? That’s deep.
Wait, it just doesn’t end with Him seeing…
Hagar received strength and motivation to go back to her mistress because of what God told her.
During another phase of her life when she and her son were sent away for good, she encountered El-roi again when she felt she had reached her end. She had left her son to die under a bush because their water had finished. El-roi shows up once again with a word of comfort and provision for water.
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. – Gen 21:17
Pause….
Don’t you think it is striking that He didn’t wait for her to reply the question? He just moved on swiftly with an answer, this shows that he was not oblivious to the situation or factors that had landed her in that situation.
Let’s continue
“Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy
a drink. – Gen 21:18.
He came with a word. He came with provision, encouragement and comfort.
At all times God sees us but do we see Him in the situation? Do we see His mighty hand in the intricacies and nuances? Do we see Him watching carefully over us as we navigate our first and only chance at life?
GOD IS BIG ENOUGH TO ACCOMMODATE ME AND HE CAN BE SMALL ENOUGH TO GIVE ME A HUG
We can only appreciate the good things God bring to life when we recognize that He is in it with us. When we carry our God-consciousness into the office, the hospital, the bedroom, and the playground that is when we can appreciate the things He does to help us along the way.
Sis, Bro,
God sees you. He’s very aware of the situation you’re in. If only you’ll acknowledge His presence and ask for help, He’ll show up.
There are a number of profound words one hears in a lifetime and this happens to be one of them. That God, the King of kings sees me and knows me.
The revelation that God isn’t just some high and mighty deity out of touch with reality is one of Hagar’s greatest contributions to humanity.
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