Hey, how’s your month going? How’s your year going? It’s still early on in 2024 but it feels like it’s already flying past.
This feeling usually tells me I need to slow down. Reorient myself. Focus back on the Father. Do you remember my blog post from New Year’s? I said that I wanted to keep getting to know God better this year. I’ve been thinking about the attributes of God lately. Getting to know Him more based on the titles He has. His personality traits. One in particular has stood out to me recently.
El Roi. The God who sees.
Do you know the story of Hagar? That’s where this name comes from.
When Abraham and Sarah were trying to help God along in His plan to give them a child, they decided maybe He meant for them to have a child through one of Sarah’s servants. Sarah gave Abraham her servant Hagar and together they had Ishmael. Before they even had Ishmael though, Sarah grew jealous of Hagar and Hagar fled. She was out on her own, pregnant and scared. She probably felt completely disregarded and alone.
Then in Genesis 16 an angel of the Lord stops her on her way and gives her a promise. The same promise God had given to Sarah and Abraham. That promise was meant for Isaac. But God also blessed Ishmael as one of Abraham’s sons. As Abraham’s first-born son. Ishmael actually gets his name from this encounter.
Ishmael, meaning “God hears.”
And the same God who saw Hagar and took care of her is the same God who sees me and takes care of me. Who sees you and takes care of you too.
You may feel like you’re on your own. Disregarded. Like no one sees you or sees where you’re at. You might feel like you’re drowning as the rest of the world goes on like business as usual and no one seems to notice. But God does.
Our fears, our stresses, our current situations, our hopes and dreams, our efforts. He sees all of it. This is something I definitely believe He’s teaching me lately. He isn’t unaware of me. He isn’t tired of my same burdens and stresses. He knows. He sees. He cares. He loves me. Not just the me who is a part of mankind. But me, personally. Individually. You, personally. Individually.
All throughout scripture, He proves Himself as the God who’s paying attention. Who never lets His attention slip from us. Not even for a moment.
Psalm 8 marvels at this idea.
He is the God of all of our days. Part of Him being the God who sees is that He’s the God who is there for all of your days, in the ones you expect and especially in the ones you didn’t see coming. He saw them. He knew how they would hit you and He prepared the way for them just the same as He prepared the way for your best days.
I actually got to experience this exact thing recently. I got some bad news earlier this month that I was definitely not prepared for. And the whole day or two before getting that news, my friend and I kept noticing how God had lined things up so perfectly. I can’t even remember them all now, but I remember we were amazed at how well the timing on so many different things had just been coming together over the last two days. And He kept repeating that idea to me over that time too. He’s the God who sees and the God of all my days. He was proving that to me.
And then I got the news that my grandma was in the hospital and things didn’t look good.
But God had been showing me over the last few days that He was there for me during that time. He wasn’t leaving me. Even in a situation that I would not consider good, He is still good. He is still God.
He’s sovereign. The days are His. Written by Him. Ordained by Him. And therefore good. Even when they don’t feel good. Because He is still the same good God. The same faithful God. He acts from a place of perfect faithfulness.
He works all things together. Even when it feels like nothing is falling together right. He’s still there. Still watching. Still working. Still orchestrating. Still good.
Still good.
He’s the God who seeks me even when I don’t want to seek Him. Even when I’m distracted by life or sinking under the weight of it. Even when I’m hiding from Him. He sees me in all of it. He seeks me in all of it.
He does the same for you too. This promise is the same promise for each of us.
Over and over throughout scripture, God shows His love for us and the attention He has placed on us. The psalms especially are good if you want to delve further.
Psalm 90 calls the Lord “our dwelling place in all generations.” Our home.
Psalm 107 is an entire psalm of thanks to God for the love He has for us. For the attention He gives us. For seeing us and taking care of us. For being El Roi.
Psalm 110 shows Him to be a man of His word. “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind.” He is not finicky or forgetful. He loves us enough to keep His word to us.
Psalm 111 is another psalm of thanks to the Lord for the love and attention and care He gives us. He’s our Provider.
Psalm 116 gives thanks again to God. It’s a love letter to the Lord in response to His love for us.
This is one of my favorite verses. It shows such a personal relationship between us and the Lord on an individual level. Because He listens to me, I know I can call on Him. Every single day of my life. He won’t get tired of me. He won’t stop listening. He’s already proven Himself to be the God who listens to me. The God who sees me.
My grandma actually ended up passing away about a week or two after I got the news of her being in the hospital. But I still know the Lord listened to my prayers. He still does. He is a good God. A good Father. Even when my circumstances don’t turn out the way that I would consider to be good. He’s given me peace in the middle of it. He’s given me comfort.
Call on Him. Let Him listen to you. Know that He sees you. He hasn’t forgotten you. Let Him be your strength. Let Him be whatever you need. He’s got you.
The Place Called Home 
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