Grace and Peace!!
Today’s uplift: “God Surely See’s our Struggles” Gen. 16:13 ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me”.
Sometimes God will rescue us from difficult places and sometimes He will sustain us in the midst of them. He is still a loving God in both scenarios and He knows what’s best for us because He wants only the best for us!
In the book of Genesis Sarai, Abram and Hagar had a certain situation. The bible tells that in Genesis 9-10 that, the angel of the Lord says to Hagar, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her … I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count”.
He is saying, “In the midst of the place where you feel broken, isolated, abandoned and afraid, that is where I am going to bless you.” As a result, Hagar says, “‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me” (Genesis 16:13).
Hagar reminds us all of God’s tangible love when we are suffering, alone, broken or afraid. She reminds us to see God seeing us in our difficult places. I imagine her saying: “Even though life is hard, I see God seeing me; Even though I feel alone, I see God seeing me; Even though I’m scared and broken, I see God seeing me.” She knew God was El Roi, the God who sees. He remains the same God today. He sees you and me as we walk through our difficult places. He is God enough to sustain us in the midst of them.
Genesis Chapter 16 is where we are introduced to Hagar. She was the Egyptian maidservant of Sarai (Sarah), wife of Abram (Abraham). Sarai was battling infertility, and as a result, she decided to take matters into her own hands. 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 go along with Sarai’s plan, and Hagar conceived a son named Ishmael. Scripture says when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she despised her mistress. Some translations say that Hagar treated Sarai with contempt. Then Sarai blamed Abram: “I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me”. Sarai then mistreated Hagar, and Hagar fled, attempting to escape the difficult circumstances in her life.
At this point, I imagine Hagar felt used, betrayed, isolated and mistreated. She must have felt that her situation was so unfair. Then in Genesis 16:7, “The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert …” (NIV). Hagar was so valued by God that He sent His angel to spent time with her. God did not have to look for her because we know that He is omniscient. I believe the pursuit was for Hagar’s benefit. He wanted her to know she was worth looking for. He wanted her to know that she was seen and loved by God.
The angel of the Lord pursued, engaged and listened to Hagar. He then instructed her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her” (Genesis 16:9). God did not rescue Hagar from her plight. He did not swoop down and remove her from the situation. This is an expectation that we can have when we are facing difficult places. We long for God to step in and save us from everything hard in our lives, instantaneously making all things wonderful and new. Here we see that this was not God’s plan.
Overcomer, yes God see’s us in our struggles, but we must remind ourselves that He is a loving God who wants the best for us! Know that He will work it all out for your good! Trust Him, He knows what’s best and He is always watching you. Walk it out and know that He is walking along side of you!
Be Optimistic; Be Open Minded; Be an Over comer!!