Read: Genesis 16
[Hagar] gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me.” (v. 13 NIV)
She was a woman, she was a foreigner, and she was a slave. She played no part in the decisions that others made concerning her, and as a result she was carrying Abram’s child. Hagar was powerless, pregnant, and treated harshly by her mistress, Sarai. No doubt she felt unseen, disregarded by the world, and considered inconsequential by all. Miserable and desperate, she ran away, headed in the direction of her home country, Egypt.
But she was not forgotten, unseen, or disregarded. The angel of the Lord was sent with a message for her. God was not unaware of her situation; he had heard her misery, and he had a promise for this slave woman and her son. Hagar’s descendants would increase and become too numerous to count. Her son, Ishmael, would be a hostile, fighting man, the leader of his own people. Hagar called the well where she met God’s messenger Beer-lahai-roi, which means “the well of the Living One who sees me” (see footnote on v. 14). No longer forlorn and brokenhearted, Hagar returned to Abram and Sarai, and Ishmael was born.
To be seen, to be known, to be loved. God reassures his people with the knowledge that they’re not abandoned at any time in their journey. He’s the God who sees—the God who is close to the brokenhearted.
As you pray, rest in the knowledge that you’re always seen by God.
Laura N. Sweet is a wife, mother, grandmother, and former Christian school teacher from Midland, Michigan. She writes devotional material for both adults and children, and her work has appeared in more than a dozen publications.
