Scripture: Genesis 16:1-14
Journal: How do you long to be seen by God today? What does he see? What does it do in you to see the One who
sees you?
Reflection: Hagar was on the run. Life was
not going well at all. She was young and
she was pregnant and she was alone. She
had been cruelly mistreated by her mistress, Sarai, and was so miserable and so
desperate that she had run away. She had
no idea where she was going, but knew that anything would be better than the
affliction and oppression and browbeating (‘anah in the Hebrew) she was
receiving at the hands of Sarai.
So when the angel of the
Lord found her near a spring in the desert, he asked her the million dollar
question: “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you
going?” It was a question that the angel
surely knew the answer to, but one that Hagar needed to know the answer to as
well. For in the midst of her pain and
loneliness and desperation and confusion, she needed to fully realize that she
was not alone. God was with her. God, the Living One, had seen her. He had seen her plight and had seen her
mistreatment and had seen the desperate state of her heart. “I see you, Hagar. I see both where you have come from and where
you are going, and I am with you. Do not
fear. Do not be discouraged. Do not be dismayed. I see you, and I will take care of you. I am your God and I love you more than you
could ever imagine.”
And you have to love Hagar’s
response. “You are the God who sees
me. I have now seen the One who sees
me.” Somehow in being seen, Hagar had
seen the One who sees her, knows her and loves her. And, somehow, seeing the One who sees her had
changed everything.
God sees you too. He sees your life and he sees your
heart. He sees what you are going
through, whatever that may be. He sees
your joys, he sees your pains, and he sees your sorrows. You are not alone. And in being seen by him, he wants you to see
him, the One who sees. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
Closing
Prayer: Thank you, O Lord, that you are the God who
sees me. And that I have now seen by the
One who sees me. Amen.
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