He sees me.

As tears filled my eyes on the way to counseling last Thursday, I captured this photo.  I sent it to a friend and said, “He sees.  He weeps. He knows.”   I later sent the picture to her in an Instagram message with this verse:  Psalm 32:8  “I will instruct you and teach you in the way that you should go.  I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”
This morning I was reading the OWNit365 One Story reading plan in Genesis 16 about Hagar,  the slave of Sarai. Here’s a brief summary:  Sarai had her husband sleep with Hagar so they could have a child.  Once Hagar became pregnant she started to despise Sarai.  Sarai started to mistreat Hagar and so Hagar left.   The angel of the Lord finds her, and calls her by name, and asks her where she is going.  She tells him she is running away.  The angel of the Lord tells her to go back and submit.  He told her she would have many descendants and to name her baby boy Ishmael (which means God Hears) because the Lord had heard of her misery.
He heard her.  Maybe she cried out to Him.  Maybe she just cried.  Maybe she had prayed over and over for relief and for help.  Maybe she screamed.  However she expressed her misery, He heard it, and He saw her.
Then in verse 13 and I read her response:
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.”
He sees me.
He knows.
I matter.
Hagar, who was a slave.  Hagar, who was pregnant by Abram – Sarai’s husband.  Hagar, who was mistreated.  Hagar, who ran away to escape.
The angel of the Lord pursued Hagar and found her.  The angel of the Lord called her by her name.
He sees.  He hears.  He knows.  He is always aware.
The name she gave her Lord that day is the God who sees me.  
El Roi – The God Who Sees
I thought about that verse all day.   Then, at dinner tonight, my son said, “We had an interesting discussion about Abraham today at school.”  Part of the discussion was about Abraham having two wives, and then I chimed in and told them the part about El Roi – The God who sees!   We can be sure God sees and that He is with us.  I made sure to clarify that He sees everything – not just like Santa when you are naughty or nice…but when you are hurting, lonely or sad.  He knows.  He sees.   We are never alone.  El Roi – The God Who Sees.  What a comfort!

Psalm 56:8 (MSG) 

You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights,

Each tear entered in your ledger,

each ache written in your book.