El Roi: The God who Sees

Listen:

“You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13-14)

Reflect:

I am a middle child, a position in the family that offers both blessings and challenges.  The blessings include a nestled place between older and younger siblings, rich with companionship.  The challenge of this middle position has to do with getting lost in the shuffle, so to speak, and forgotten in the course of busy family life.  Typically, we are a compliant bunch, eager to please and reluctant to make waves so, it’s not surprising that we get overlooked and often carry around a wound of feeling invisible…unseen.

Is it any wonder that I am drawn to stories where Jesus SEES people.  Like, Hagar who finds herself in a desert, used and abused, pregnant and alone.  She was an Egyptian slave, whose name means “forsaken” and yet, in the midst of her desolation, she is found by an angel and given hope!  Her response reverberates over the centuries with revelation and power!  “You are the God who sees me.  I have now seen the One who sees me.”   

What does it do to a soul to be SEEN?  It heals!  It touches the deepest parts of us and reminds us that we are always known and loved!  It creates SHALOM inside us!  Whether by a friend who takes time to listen to our worries or, a spouse who notices we are in the room and nestles up close or, the Word of God that attends to our needs, we connect to the love of Christ every time we feel seen.  God made us to be seen and here is the knockout revelation!  He WANTS to SEE us and can’t wait to SEE US every day, all the time!  It’s WHO He is…El Roi, the God who sees us!

Prayer of Response:

Thank you, God, that you always see us!  Even when we feel lost and alone, you are here.  Help each of us to feel the reality of Your eyes on us through your Word, your people, and the life around us.  We long for Hagar’s joy of seeing the God who sees us. Amen.”

Questions to Ponder:

• When was the last time you experienced being seen, known, listened to deeply?

• Where do you best experience being seen by God?  (In the word?  Worship?  Creation?  People?  Other?)

• Where do you need to be seen, understood and cared for?  Do you feel alone or invisible?  Where might you reach out?  

—Submitted by Judy Villanueva
Judy lives with her husband in Colorado, near the kids and grands. She completed her masters at Fuller Theological Seminary, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Spiritual Director, and writer. Her Bible reflections can be found at listeningforlove.net