A God Who Sees

Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “Thou art a God who sees”

 Genesis 16:13

Rejected, hated, cast out unjustly, used and then disposed of, and abandoned. This was Hagar’s experience?  Can you relate?  I certainly can.  In her darkest moments, God saw Hagar.  Sarai, her mistress, didn’t believe that God would provide an heir through her and Abram so she took matters into her own hands, based on what she could see, and gave Hagar to Abraham. 

But once she had conceived, Hagar became despised in Sarai’s sight.  Sarai treated her harshly and Hagar fled from her presence.  The angel of the LORD, who is Jesus in the Old Testament, found her and asked her where she was from and where she was going.  After she replied that she was fleeing from the presence of her mistress, the angel of the LORD said for her return to Sarai and submit to her authority.  She was to face her situation and deal with it, in spite of her feelings of betrayal and rejection.  The angel of the LORD also said He would greatly multiply her descendants.  After He had spoken to her she called Him a God who sees, Jehovah El Roi.  He had pursued her into the wilderness and seen her plight. 

The way God sees encompasses so much more than the way we see.  We look at or observe, just like watching TV or a sporting event. But God looks on us with approval, He beholds, considers, discerns, takes heed, is near to, perceives, is present to, provides, regards and respects.  Wow, this kind of seeing is active and giving, allowing us to respond to Him.  All of the time.  He doesn’t disappear or leave on vacation when the heartaches besiege us, when troubles overwhelm us, or when disaster strikes.  Even though the Lord sees us in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, He does not necessarily remove us from it or eliminate it.

God, who is completely holy, cannot be in the presence of unholiness—sin.  God turned His back on Jesus, His beloved son, briefly, and could not look on Him for the time on the cross when Jesus became sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Think about it for a moment—God, our heavenly Father, turned His back on His own son so that He will never have to turn His back on us.  Never!

My heavenly Father, I thank You for keeping me as the apple of Your eye, made possible through the sacrifice of Your precious son’s life.  Knowing that You see me gives me great peace and comfort.

Karen Sims