We live in a world where access to connection with others near and far is instantaneous and constant, and yet, people are lonelier than ever. It is so easy to curate a life filled with highlight reels for others looking in to see. But we guard our real lives. To be fair it’s hard to capture fear, despair, waiting for answers, indecisiveness, and all of life’s unanswered questions in a pretty, little square picture box with the perfect caption.

We scroll and see how others seem to have it all together and we think, “if only this… or that…” We continue to pray and seek God’s wisdom, but we grow weary and take matters into our hands you know, to help God along. Before we know it, we have isolated ourselves and wonder if anyone sees us. Does God see us?

News flash: He Does!

In fact, one of the names for God is El Roi which literally means the God who sees me. It is only used once in scripture and it was Hagar, a woman slave, who gave God the name.

In Genesis we learn of the story of Abram and Sarai. God made a promise to make a great nation through their many, many offspring to come. The only problem was they were old in age and Sarai was barren. Still full of faith, Abram and Sarai believed until Sarai didn’t.

She got tired of waiting and started to question logistically how this would be possible and decided to take matters in her own hands. This is where we are introduced to Hagar.

Genesis 16: 1-4a says, “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her. Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.”

Oftentimes when we study this passage, we focus on Sarai being inpatient and the consequences of a lack of faith. Today, I want us to focus on Sarah’s decision, including Abram’s agreement, from Hagar’s point of view. Hagar had zero say in the matter. She was a slave and under the authority of Sarai. She was not seen as a person but as property to do as she was told.

Reading this story with Hagar in mind is important to understand not only how she was feeling but what was at stake in the actions she was about to take.

Let’s continue reading Genesis16: 4b-6.

Sarai became resentful and jealous of Hagar. She blamed Abraham for doing exactly what she asked causing Hagar to despise her. I mean, if I was Hagar, I wouldn’t be exactly happy about this situation. Sarai began to mistreat Hagar so much so that Hagar ran away.

Leaving may seem like the obvious choice to you and me if we were in a situation where we were treated poorly but remember Hagar was a slave. She was pregnant, alone, and had nowhere to go. She felt helpless and unknown.

Let’s see how this changes in Genesis 16:7 - 12

This is the first time the term Angel of the Lord appears in the Bible. The use of this phrase translates as God himself appearing to Hagar.

It’s important to note that God didn’t just appear, he called her by name: Hagar slave of Sarai! Not only did God see her, He knew exactly who she was. He took the time to comfort her and make a promise to increase her descendants for her obedience.

Check out Hagar’s response in Genesis 16:13- 16

This is significant for many reasons. There are many names for God: Abba, Yahweh, Jehovah Shalom, Elohim… to name a few. We learn these names because God reveals Himself with these names and how they are significant in describing a part of His character.

El Roi is the only name given to God… and it fascinates me that it was given to Him by a woman, who’s job was to go unnoticed.

This story resonates with me on many levels. I had a dysfunctional at best childhood. So much so that at one point I too was a runaway. Surely life on the street would be better than my home life. The jury is still out on that answer. I do know this, I left because I felt helpless and unseen.

This feeling became a reoccurring theme in my life from being a young professional woman in the workforce, a stay at mom, the only woman of color in many rooms, a trauma kid who manages anxiety and depression, and well, just a human being trying to be a disciple of Christ.

Just recently I broke down in tears, ugly crying because I felt like I was failing at everything: being a wife, mom, sister, friend, employee. The hardest part is feeling alone because I often feel like if I tell anyone I was struggling they would see me differently. It’s an old trauma response: trying to control the narrative of my life. But you know what? God sees me. The real me and I am reminded that I am created in His image on purpose for a purpose. I am not a mistake, and I don’t need to prove my worth to Him. I am worthy simply because I am His.

It is who our God is. A God who sees. The same characteristic is demonstrated in Jesus. Jesus saw people, especially women. He went out of His way to have an encounter with the woman at the well, He stood up for the woman caught in adultery, and He called the bleeding woman daughter after she was healed.

I’m not sure what your story is but I believe it’s a safe bet you either have experienced a time when you felt unseen or are struggling in this exact moment. When I start to feel this way, I am reminded of Hagar’s story and she once felt so desperate she fled and was found by God who gave her so much hope of all the names she called him El Roi, the God who sees me.

Sisters, you too are seen, known, and loved by God.

Call out to El Roi, lay your request before Him and allow Him to comfort you, to restore you, to give you peace that transcends all understanding. He sees you and He knows you by name.

Before we close our time together today. I want you to grab a notebook and a pen. Look up versus below and write them down. Make it a priority to commit them to memory. Recite them back to yourself any time you need a reminder that God is El Roi.