The God Who Sees Me Sometimes there are moments in life when we genuinely feel very unseen. Waiting seasons Unanswered dreams Failed relationships Abusive situations When life just hits you hard Genesis 16:1-15 NIV 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. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered. Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery. He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers.” She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne. Genesis 16:1-15 NIV The Angel asks two very important questions: Where have you come from? Where are you going? “Questions help draw us out of our present circumstances, and cause us to reflect on what is really going on.” “An honest question has the tendency to force us to be honest with ourselves.” “When we are honest with God, it invites Him to meet us exactly where we are.” Hagar's situation was extremely unfair. Maybe you feel like her in some ways and you feel like you're running from something. Maybe you've lost all hope and/or you feel forgotten. If you are honest, what's the question that God is inviting you to be honest about? Ex. What are you running from? Why are you hiding ___? Are you okay? In her darkest moment she realized that she was seen by God. And that empowered her to go back and hold onto hope. She had the promise to hold onto for a brighter future for her decendants. God didn't change her circumstances, but she went back with a new mindset. She found hope in God and all of a sudden it was as if she was exposed to God's perspective. And that changed everything. When we encounter God, it has the potential to change everything. El Roi - “The God Who Sees Me” When we are seen: We don't have to vie for God's attention, His attention is already on us We don't have to make a show or jump in front of a camera We don't have to push His buttons to get Him to turn His face towards us We don't have to get everything right When God sees us, we are fully loved, fully forgiven, fully set apart and fully taken care of. Psalm 23:1-6 NIV The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalm 23:1-6 NIV God's presence changes us Question: What are you running from today? What are you hiding from? What do we do about all of this? How can we trust that God sees us? What are the practical things we can do? 1. Get in His presence 2. We need to be honest It is only by encountering the presence of the living God. That enables us to do the things He is calling us to do.