The God Who Sees
Read This Week: Genesis 16
The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert, the spring beside the road to Shur. And She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” – Genesis 16:7 & 13 NIV
It is quite a blessing in life to be truly seen and understood. Experiencing someone in our lives, anyone who actually sees us in our essence and loves us for the same, is something that money or status cannot buy. If we are fortunate enough to have a friend, family member, or spouse who does that for us, it is cause for gratitude. To be seen is something every human aspires to. It validates and infuses us with the worth endowed by our Creator, the One who made us with that longing but who also fulfills it.
In Genesis 16, we encounter a challenging story to read and absorb. Yet, it touches an array of emotions within us that we can both relate to and be cautioned by. Abram’s wife, Sarai, was saddened by her seeming inability to bear children (v.2a). Desperate to have a child by any means, she wanted Hagar, their servant, to be a surrogate and bear a child with Abram (v.2b). From the context of the previous chapters, it is plausible that Hagar was one of the servants given to Abram by Pharaoh when they were asked to leave Egypt. In this arrangement and according to their custom, the baby would be considered the child of Abram and Sarai, not Abram and Hagar. However, this agreement does not come without complications and troubling issues. Things done out of unbelief and desperation frequently result in a myriad of problems.
Sarai knew God’s promises to Abram, and she understood His sovereignty. She had seen it played out already in hers and Abram’s life, but she was in pain. She was dealing with the pain of hope unrealized. The pain of unanswered prayers. The pain of not having a child to hold in her arms. The pain of public humiliation. Pain can change our perspective and alter our understanding of who God is. It can also lead us to question His promises for our lives. Sarai was no different than we are. The promise of descendants was in her mind, but it had not come for many years, and she wanted a child. As one bible commentator said, unbelief is a sin but is also a sickness that carries a lot of pain. Pain and doubt cause us to make decisions and do things out of character and lack faith in the Lord.
The result of this unbelieving decision is a lot of hurtful circumstances that affect everyone involved. The Bible says that when Sarai discovers that Hagar is pregnant, she begins to despise her (v.4). Then she blames Abram for the situation and tells him that he is responsible for her suffering (v.5a). She is not necessarily wrong as Abram should have been the spiritual leader and told her that the Lord was able to bring about what He promised. Still, Sarai spiritualizes her anger toward Abram (v.5b) and then uses it to mistreat Hagar (v.6). Hagar, fearing for her safety and distraught by the mistreatment, runs away.
Verses 7-12 show us that Hagar flees into the desert and encounters an angel of the Lord by a spring on the side of the road. The angel tells her to go back and submit to Sarai and that she will give birth to a son and her descendants will be too numerous to count (v.9-10). Hagar believes what is told to her and immediately knows this is no mere angel. She cries out in faith and declares that He is the God who sees me and that she has seen the One who sees me (v.13). Hagar discovered that God was with her in the desert, therefore giving her confidence that He would be with her in returning to Abram and Sarai. The Lord had seen her, and she had seen Him. These encounters with God and His truth always transform us.
We know and believe in a God who sees. In His omnipresence, He never takes His eyes off of us. We are the beneficiaries of His divine and loving gaze. He saw Sarai in her pain and longing. He saw her barrenness and desire to have a child. He saw her in her unbelief when she made the grief-fueled and ill-advised decision. He saw Hagar, pregnant and wandering in the desert. He saw her in fear and brokenness, shaken by the confusion of mistreatment and uncertainty of the future. God saw Abram in his lack of spiritual leadership and inability to properly guide his wife toward obedience. Yet, His promises remained true to them all and His faithfulness to His sovereign plan never wavered.
He is the God who sees us. He is not distant or unfeeling. He sees into our hearts and observes our actions and lives. He sees us, and to be seen by the Savior is to know love, acceptance, grace, and forgiveness in a way that can’t be recreated or imitated by anyone or anything on earth. May we live in such a manner as if we are well aware, like Hagar, that we serve a God who sees.
This is a very powerful chapter and lesson as well. God wanted me to pay attention to verse 11 in the AMPC.
11 And the Angel of the Lord continued, See now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.
God said to me about this:
“Make decisions with Me. Life will be much easier and you will benefit greatly. You are free to make decisions on your own, however.”
It is a simple playbook that God gives us. when we follow it we are in His grace and also have the best path ahead of us. When we deviate we run the risk of enduring much hardship. The Lord never leaves us regardless of where we go. We have ideas that come from the world and ideas that come from God. When we talk with God we are able to see the difference between them and act accordingly.
Genesis Chapter 16 Verse 11
And the Angel of the Lord continued, See.now, you are with child and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Ishmael [God hears], because the Lord has heard and paid attention to your affliction.
Genesis Chapter 16 Verse 13
So he called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, you are a God of seeing, for she said, have I [not] even here [in the wilderness] looked upon Him Who sees me [and loved]? Or have I here I also seen [the future purposes or designs of] Him Who sees me?
~God Sees And Hears Us~
God Is Saying To Me:
My child, even in your darkest moments. I see you and I hear you. Stand firm and steadfast in my promises to you. You are my child no matter how far you stray. Sin isn’t an excuse to falter and feel despair, hopelessness, envy, jealousy, or arrogance toward others. In times of trouble. Trouble. Call out to me. Seek me and trust me to help you through adversities because I am always listening and I know what has occurred in it advance and I see you. I am a God of no respecter of persons. Your sin has no level of depth but has every opportunity for forgiveness by grace and mercy and to become a blessing for you and others.
What This Means To Me:
God’s grace and mercy for us is sufficient. We don’t have to feel shamefulness or view ourselves as an outcast because God sees us, loves us and hears our cries. God doesn’t condone sinning but loves us so much that He is capable of turning a poor decision or a negative life event into somethin good to be a blessing or to be fruitful in our lives so that we can have a testimony to pay forward to help others for Him. Thank you God that you see us, you hear our cries and you always are ready and capable of helping us to turn our messes into messages to glorify you and to further your kingdom. We never have to run away! I love you Father God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit! ❤️❤️❤️
This Week in the Life: Genesis 16
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This is what I got from Genesis 16. Sarai understood that I was sovereign over her womb. There was a lot of pain while she had to wait for Me to provide a child for her. It was the pain of hope while she was waiting. The pain of prayers not yet answered. The pain of arms that had never held her own child. Sarai sending Abram to Hagar so she could have his baby, was against My will. It was a sin of unbelief in Me, and in My promises. It was also a sin against Abram and Sarai’s marriage. Abram was responsible for his sin of doing what Sarai told him to do. Abram and Sarai did not trust Me to fulfill My promise, so they left Me out of this matter. I am never out of the equation. Men and women in faith must walk in faith and not unbelief. In trying to fulfill My promises in your effort and in your life, you could prolong the the time until the promise is fulfilled. It is much better to receive My help. To help you have better insight, it is better to ask yourself “where I have come from, and where am I going?” It is important to repent when you sin. My promise to you is obey Me and I will protect you. Sometimes you think your circumstances need transformation; but it is you who needs transformation. You need to have a change of heart. You have the promise of Jesus.
What this said to me is God does not want me to not include Him in every decision I make. He doesn’t want me to go off on my own. He will fulfill His promises to Me, but It will be in His timing. I can transform you into who I want you to be, but you have to trust Me.
Genesis 16: 3 She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen[c] the One who sees me.”
God is saying to me
I see you, I know what is in your heart, I know what is going on all around you, I am with you, stay close to me no matter what is going on, listen to Me, my voice, I will always lead you in the right direction, I AM always working even if you can’t see it, I see you, I Love you my daughter you can trust Me.
What this means to me is there will always be troubles, issues, people not getting along, the list goes on, but I know Father God sees everything, He knows what’s going to happen, I don’t, for me I need to stay close to Him, listening to His voice, I don’t need to run from anything because if I do I’ll have to go back and do it over again, I’ve done that, I don’t want to do that again, so I do know Father God is with me He is always working, if I stay close He’ll lead me in the right direction.
Thank you Father God, Jesus and Your Holy Spirit that Your always working, and you love us all.
Please help me to continue to do Your work in me, and help others as you lead me, I want to do what You want to do because I Love you 🙂