Jesus Hears, Sees, and Knows You,
Do you ever feel that you're not seen? Do you struggle with feeling like no one hears you? Those feelings can be incredibly discouraging. But today, I want to remind us that even when we feel mistreated or ignored by those in the world, we have a Father in heaven who is always with us. Although sometimes our world is loud and busy, we have a God who is seeing us, hearing us, and with us, no matter the situation.
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How did Abraham and Sarah's lack of faith impact those around them, especially Hagar? When was a time you or those around you were impacted negatively by someone’s lack of faith
How might God be seeking to comfort you in a painful or difficult situation in your life right now? What might it look like for you to receive his comfort? How can trusting in God’s goodness and guidance help us to persevere through these difficult situations?
What is one way you desire to be seen, heard, or understood in your life currently? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the ways God is currently seeing, hearing, and understanding you and for that reality to become tangible to you.
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Today, I want to remind us that even when we’re mistreated by others, ignored, or dismissed by others, God sees us. He sees us all, and he is close by, eager to comfort us.
I’m encouraged by the story of Hagar. It’s a story in the Old Testament. Hagar was a slave for Sarah and Abraham. As we spoke about in the devotional last week, Abraham was the one who God gave a promise that he would become a nation, that he would have so many descendants they could not be numbered.
However, Abraham and Sarah were an older couple, and they did not have children. So they doubted God’s promise to them. Sarah came up with this great idea for Abraham to sleep with her Egyptian slave, Hagar, and get her pregnant. She was thinking that maybe, through Hagar, the promise that God had made would be fulfilled.
So they take matters in their own hands. They took control of the situation because, obviously, they could not see how God could accomplish this. Isn’t that like you and me? Okay, at least me. I struggle to wait on God sometimes.
Abraham ends up sleeping with Hagar, and she gets pregnant. But then, when she has her son, Ishmael, Sarah grows contempt for her. Now, contempt is a type of hatred, a heart posture that says to another person, “You’re bad. You’re worthless. Your disposable, unlovable.” Sarah behaves this way toward Hagar and mistreats her so badly that Hagar runs away and hides in the wilderness.
Poor Hagar, a pregnant woman, vulnerable, running away from the effects of Sarah and Abraham’s desire for control… It got so ugly, it was so painful to her, that she had to run. While she’s hiding, God meets her and brings her comfort. It says that an angel of the Lord came to Hagar in that place of desperation.
What I really appreciate about the story is that we must remember that even when we’re mistreated, when we feel lonely or afraid, we’re never truly alone. We have a God who sees us, who is patient with us, who seeks to comfort us, who is full of mercy and blessing for us. He will come to your aid. At a minimum, help you heal and feel seen. We see that through this story. We’re going to read from Genesis 16:7-13. Let’s read.
“The angel of the Lord found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. He said, ‘Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She replied, ‘I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority.’ The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘I will greatly multiply your offspring, and they will be too many to count.’
The angel of the Lord said to her, ‘You have conceived and will have a son. You will name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard your cry of affliction. This man will be like a wild donkey. His hand will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him; he will settle near all his relatives. So she named the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are El-roi,’ for she said, ‘In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?’”
This is remarkable. An angel of the Lord finds Hagar while she’s running away. When he finds her, he calls her to return to Sarah, to return to this place where obviously she was being mistreated. She invites Hagar to trust him. God makes her a promise very similar to the promise that he gave to Abraham and Sarah: they would have so many offspring they could not be counted.
She also gets a promise that she will give birth to a nation of people, but sadly, that her son named Ishmael, meaning God hears, is going to be a son who is going to struggle. It’s hard to read this, right? It says, “He will be against everyone, and everyone’s hand will be against him.” To me, that’s so sad. Somehow, the damage that comes from Abraham and Sarah’s lack of trust affects Hagar, affects her son, and affects an entire nation.
This goes to show how the toxicity of our human desire to have control and certainty of everything is bad. When we try to have the power that only God has, we make a mess, and it has huge consequences. But still, in the midst of that mess, God sees Hagar. In fact, she’s the first person in the Bible who gives God a name, and she names him El-roi. She says, “This is the place where I have actually seen the one who sees me.” El-roi means one who sees.
God sees us. He hears our cry. While Sarah looked at Hagar with contempt, God saw her with love and mercy and compassion. While Sarah blamed her for all her suffering, God looked upon Hagar with grace. God is the one who sees us. He sees all of our struggles. We can give to him whatever pain we experience. He will walk that valley of darkness with us.
No matter how others treat us, God will always treat us with mercy. So today, I want to encourage us to trust God above all else. Remember that Jesus is proof of God’s faithfulness. He came in the flesh to be with us, to show us that he sees us too. He came to suffer for us. This reminds me of what Jesus did when he went and met that woman at Jacob’s well.
We read the story in John 4. He went out of his way to see her as well. Here’s a woman who was hiding from people because of her circumstances. We don’t know why she had been divorced multiple times. We don’t know if she was the one at fault or someone else’s toxic control that caused the situation, but nevertheless, Jesus also sees her, and he tells her everything about her.
She’s so moved by this moment of mercy and grace that she went to her town, and she shared with others about Jesus, and many people came to believe in Jesus because of her message. Jesus blessed her despite her difficult circumstances.
He knows you, and he knows me intimately in our worst times, even when we’re feeling completely alone and devastated. He comes close to us, so remember, we’re never alone. We can have faith that God sees whatever we’re dealing with. So let’s pray today and remember the one who sees us.
Oh, heavenly father, thank you. I feel seen. Simply by remembering this, I feel seen. Father, so many of us are dealing with difficult situations. If any of the ones listening to this devotional is feeling oppressed by others, I pray, God, that you would help him or her feel your presence, feel your very eyes upon them. Make yourself, God, so visible to them that they will be encouraged. I’m encouraged by this story. I’m encouraged by your faithfulness Lord. I just want to thank you for who you are. We praise you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Thank you so much for joining me for this week’s devotional. I pray that the peace and grace of Jesus Christ be with you today and all week long. God bless you.
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