After Sarai gave her maidservant, Hagar, to her husband, Abraham, to help God fulfill His promise of an heir, Hagar became pregnant. That pregnancy created tension between Sarai and Hagar, and even though Sarai was the instigator, she focused her anger and jealousy on Hagar. Ultimately, Hagar ran from her mistress and ended up in the desert. There she had a divine encounter.
As Hagar sat by a spring in the desert, homeless and with little hope for the future, an angel of the Lord appeared to her. He began the conversation by asking her where she came from and where she was going (Genesis 16:8). As the messenger of God, who is all-knowing, the angel already knew the answers, so why ask? Perhaps it was to force her to confront her situation. Very often, we like to ignore problems and hope they will go away. By forcing Hagar to articulate her situation, God forced her to face the consequences of her decision to flee.
Then, the angel instructed Hagar to return to Sarai and be submissive to her. That would have been a hard pill to swallow, but the angel also added a promise. “I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count” (Genesis 16:10 NIV84). He went on to name her child, Ishmael. and describe both his personality and his relationship with his brothers.
It was at that moment that Hagar gave God a new name, one that is used only once in all of Scripture. El Roi—the God who sees me. It was this slave girl at her lowest point in life who realized that the Mighty Creator God sees us as individuals. That name encapsulates so much of our relationship with God. He is present in our situations, both good and bad, just as He was with Hagar. He may allow us to endure difficult times, but we can have the complete assurance that He is with us. He saw Hagar in that desert just as He sees us in our families, our workplaces, and in our relationships. Sometimes, He may force us to face our trials rather than ignore them, but He knows that we can’t run away from them.
Surrendering control to God is not easy, but learning to trust Him in all situations is part of our growth as believers. We may not always understand His instructions, but we can trust that His timing and His directions are perfect. Knowing that He “sees” us and knows everything about us is a comfort even in the worst of times. When times get hard, consider this: The Mighty Creator God “sees” you! He knows everything about you, and He has your best interests at heart. He is truly El Roi, the God who sees you!
Genesis 16:1 – 16
Musings from My Sun Porch 