The God Who Sees Us

I really enjoy Bible stories for they tell great truths about God and how He loves us. One of my favorites is that of Hagar, a slave girl who was running away from home. As she sat by a spring in the wilderness, the angel of the LORD found her, called her by name, and asked, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” (See Genesis 16:8.)

When she quickly acknowledged she was running away from her mistress, he instructed her to go back home. He also told Hagar to name her unborn son Ishmael, which means “God hears,” since the LORD had indeed listened to Hagar’s affliction. She replied, “You are a God who sees me!” Awed that He had seen her and that she had seen Him, she obediently returned home.

Several years later, when the situation there became intolerable, Hagar and her son were sent away into the wilderness. When the skin [canteen] of water they’d been given ran out, Hagar placed the boy in the shade of a bush and then went a short distance away because she couldn’t bear to watch her son die.

               

As she wailed and wept, the angel of God called to her from heaven and said, “What troubles you, Hagar?”

Before she could answer, the angel said, “Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation” (Genesis 21:17, ESV).

The story continues with these words: “Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin [canteen] with water and gave the boy a drink. And God was with the boy, and he grew up…” (Genesis 21:19ff).

Dear Reader, may Hagar’s story remind you and me that God sees us, God cares for us, and God helps us. When we cry out to Him, He hears us. He will speak. He will supply what we need most. Let’s turn to Him today. Let’s listen to what He will say. Let’s trust Him to deal graciously with us, as He did with Hagar (and many others!).