May 12 I Sunday

2 Kings 15-16

John 3:1-18

“She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’”   —Genesis 16:13

On Mother’s Day, many of us look back on our childhood and remember what it was like to have our parents watch those moments that thrilled us. We would exclaim, “Hey, Mom, look at me!” or “Hey, Dad, you gotta see this!” Although we have since grown and matured, the excitement remains with us when we are seen and acknowledged. There may be moments in our
life when we feel like we are seemingly forgotten in this world, but we can find comfort in knowing that we have a God who see us.

This is true of the Old Testament story of Hagar, a woman displaced from her home country to work as a maidservant. In her distress, she ran away from the household of Abraham and Sarah, where her body was used as a surrogate to produce an offspring for them. When Hagar felt like there was nothing good left in this world for her, Scripture tells us that an angel of the LORD found her near a spring in the desert and comforted her. The angel told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.... I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count” (Genesis 16:9-10). He also reveals, “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the LORD has heard of your misery” (Genesis 16:11).

God sees our secret world and understands we all have a fundamental need to be seen and acknowledged. Like Hagar, when we see through the eyes of faith, we will meet with a God who sees us every second of every day. God watches over what He created and for us to know that we are under the loving gaze of our heavenly Father can truly change our perspective. We all need a gentle reminder that God does see us.

This is why the well, where Hagar had an encounter with the angel between Kadesh and Bered, is called “Beer Lahai Roi,” which means, “well of the Living One who sees me.” Whatever name we would choose to give God divulges as much about our need as it would about the character of God. It is through our need that we experience God in our deepest way. This is what Hagar discovered in the desert: God sees me.
He knows my name. He knows who I am. Hagar has now met with an intimate and personal God who takes compassion on her.

Even in the darkest night of our soul, we are not alone in the troubles that we face. Like Hagar, we can find comfort and rest because we have a God who sees us.

Prayer: I am grateful, Lord, that You always see me wherever I am and whatever state I am in. Thank You that I am not alone and for loving me the way You do.