The God Who Sees

“Now the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness…And He said, ‘Hagar, Sarai’s maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?’ ‘I am fleeing…’” Ge 16:7-8

This morning several dear friends came to mind when I read Hagar’s broken spirit… ‘I am fleeing...’ I remember several times in my life when those words were my feelings. Each morning I would arise to the same cruel set of circumstances whether it was facing my child’s rebellion or facing the needs of my father-in-law’s Alzheimer’s when he lived with us. It didn’t matter how much I prayed or studied the Word, the circumstances remained cruel and overbearing. Like Hagar who fled her master’s home due to a challenging situation, I was an emotional runaway. Oh sure, I was still physically present but emotionally in the wilderness. But time after time, God met me in that wilderness and tended to my needs and comforted me. He poured His strength and love into my weakness and weariness and helped me face another day. Like with Hagar, He didn’t calm the circumstances, but He calmed the storm that raged. Like Hagar, I had to get up from my knees and return to the same circumstances, but the return was always covered in new mercies.

I know many of you are having a very difficult time right now, begging God to take away your suffering and challenging circumstances. I know that it must feel like each day is a year, and each tear is in vain. But God is very clear in His word that He loves us with every part of His spirit, and in that love, He will deliver us from all our circumstances in due time. His thoughts are so much higher than how we think, and His ways are seldom the way we would want. But I don’t want a God who thinks on my level, and I certainly don’t think my way is best…I’ve seen the messiness that my way has created in the past. All Hagar had was her son whom she loved, and trust in the One who loved her. She was her son’s advocate, responsible for everything about his life. But what she realized is the same thing we must realize as we care for others. God might have entrusted us with caring for someone, but He is the true Caregiving over our spouse, our children, our parents or any other person in our life. He makes a much greater Savior than we do, so victory is ours when we lay down our ways and thoughts and allow Him to be the same God as He was for Hagar.

“Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees;” Ge 16:13