Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

You are the God who sees me

Genesis 16v13  “She [Hagar] gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are the God who sees me.’”

In this day and age, we may be concerned about the degree to which we are seen and recorded: CCTV’s abound and our phones can be portals for organisations to know about us.

When Hagar had been ill-treated by Sarah, she ran away (16v1-8). It is by a spring in the desert that the “angel of the LORD” finds her and speaks to her. The Lord is fully aware of her situation: He sees the wrong that Sarah has done, the situation Hagar is in, and what Hagar should do going forward. The LORD’s instruction is a correction:  Hagar should return to Sarah, which is not going to be easy.

The correction is blended with words of comfort and encouragement as well as uncomfortable prophecy. What is Hagar’s response to all this? For her, this was an encounter with God – the God who sees her – and she is encouraged and is obedient to God’s instruction.

God sees your situation perfectly. He comes alongside you and wants you to share with him what is going on. He wants to encourage, but he will also correct so that you may journey on His road.

What is the LORD seeing in your situation today? What words of encouragement is he giving you? What words of correction?

With love and blessing,

Roland