Tag: #Genesis16

The God Who Sees / The God Who Sees Me

Greetings, Precious Family. May the Peace of the Lord be with you always.

Family, last night we spoke about God being called El Roi, The God who sees me by Hagar who was the maiden servant to Sarai, Abram’s wife in Genesis 16.

Without repeating all of Part 1 from last night, Hagar was being mistreated by Sarai and was running away to the desert. An angel of the Lord came to her and instructed her to go back to Sarai.

Being seen and spoken to by an angel of the Lord was the first time Hagar felt acknowledged and valued. That is the reason that Hagar worshipped God in that moment.

Now, here is what I truly want to discuss. Hagar had done nothing wrong. She was obedient to Sarai and gotten pregnant by Abram as Sarai directed her.

Why did Sarai not trust God to give her all that she asked for? I know that it is hard for all of us to wait, but waiting has a purpose. 

Waiting produces patience. Waiting is not standing still doing nothing, when you have a relationship with God. Waiting requires worship, prayer, and listening to God for direction.

So what did Sarai get because of her disobedience of not waiting on God? She got Genesis 16:11-12…

Genesis 16:11-12
New International Version

11 The angel of the Lord also said to her (Hagar):

“You are now pregnant
and you will give birth to a son.
You shall name him Ishmael,[a]
for the Lord has heard of your misery.

12 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[b] all his brothers.”

Verses 11 and 12 was a foreshadowing of what was to come between Ishmael and his half brother Isaac. The world would not realize it yet but another major religion would be birthed through the descendants of Ishmael. Islam.

Here is what is interesting, all of this happened because one woman did not wait on God and took matters into her own hand and convinced her husband to go along with her decision. (Just a footnote that this story has a lot of similarities to Adam and Eve).

Family, let me ask you this. If God saw the Egyptian Hagar’s pain and had angels tend to her in the desert, would it not also make since that God felt Sarai’s pain of not being able to bear Abram a child?

So now, Sarai had to wait until she was 99 years old for the Lord to promise her a son. Sarai had to wait for the Lord To see her…. all because she was unwilling to wait.

What God has for you is for you. You won’t have to lie, cheat, steal, or do anything else. Just wait, I say, on the Lord. He sees you.

Let Us Pray

Abba,

Tonight we come before You as Your children, grateful that You are El Roi, the God who sees.
You saw Hagar in the wilderness when she felt abandoned and forgotten. You saw Sarai in her barrenness when year after year passed without the fulfillment of Your promise. You saw their pain, their fears, their struggles, and their mistakes. Nothing was hidden from Your eyes.

Lord, how often we are like Sarai. We know what You have spoken, yet the waiting becomes difficult. We grow weary when answers seem delayed. We become anxious when doors remain closed. Sometimes we are tempted to take matters into our own hands, believing we must help You accomplish what only You can do.

Forgive us for the times we have rushed ahead of Your timing. Forgive us for the moments we have trusted our own plans more than Your perfect wisdom. Teach us to remember that Your delays are not Your denials. What You promise, You will accomplish in Your perfect way and in Your perfect time.

Father, help us to rest in the confidence that You see us. You see every prayer that has gone unanswered. You see every tear shed in secret. You see every burden carried in silence. You see every promise we are still waiting to receive. And because You see us, we can trust You.

When waiting feels difficult, strengthen our faith. When impatience rises within us, give us peace. When fear whispers that You have forgotten us, remind us that El Roi never loses sight of His children.

Help us to wait with expectation rather than frustration, with worship rather than worry, and with faith rather than fear. Let us trust that Your timing is always better than our own. May we never run ahead of You, but walk closely beside You, confident that the God who sees us is also the God who guides us.

Thank You for loving us enough to withhold what is premature and to provide what is best. Thank You for being present in every season of waiting. Thank You that even when we cannot see what You are doing, You are faithfully working behind the scenes for Your glory and our good.

We place our hopes, our dreams, our prayers, and our timelines into Your hands. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen, Amen, and Amen.

Worship Video of the Day

Rev. Marcia Davis, BA, MA