El Roi

𝗘𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗶. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗼 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝘀. The God who sees us in every moment, whose eye is always upon us, watching over us. The God who sees us when tears slip down our cheeks, when the weight of the world threatens to crush us. The God who sees us when we sit alone, when anxiety overwhelms, and we can’t seem to cast off those fearful thoughts. The God who sees us in the good and the bad. 𝗔𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗘𝗹 𝗥𝗼𝗶.

The story of Hagar is a beautiful one, the only time our Father is referred to as El Roi. It’s a story of redemption and hope. In Genesis 16:13 Hagar says this to the LORD; “𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆,” 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆.” You saw me. The Creator, the Holy One, the Great I Am saw me and didn’t ignore me! But even more than this, Hagar says, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆.” Hagar saw God! In that desolate place, crushed, and expecting to die, Hagar saw God.

In moments of great anguish, God not only sees us, but He also reveals himself to us. Do you remember Elijah? After being chased by Jezebel he fell into a great depression and cried out to God saying, “𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑻𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.” (1 Kings 19:4b). Strengthened supernaturally by the LORD he traveled for 40 days to a cave at Mount Horeb where God revealed Himself to Elijah in a whisper. A voice of intimacy, one where you have to lean in and come close to hear the words.

Hagar wouldn’t have seen God if it wasn’t for her brokenness and trials. When all seems lost, remember God sees You! Ask Him to reveal Himself to you, to comfort and encourage. Your loving Father sees you in all your wonderful potential. Washed clean and beautiful by the blood of Jesus. He sees you in your good moments and in your bad. You are never invisible or too small and insignificant – the ever-watchful eyes of your Savior are upon you! 𝗛𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂.