The God Who Sees

I'm sorry that there hasn't been a new post in awhile. We had some technical difficulties that I think are ironed out now. Thanks for your patience and for those of you who are faithful to read these devotions.

Today's devotion was inspired by my own personal Bible study. I'm following a plan for reading the Bible in a year in chronological order. I love it. It is so interesting to read the Word in the order the events were happening in history. I highly recommend it. Here's a link to the same plan that you can customize for yourself.

From the Word:
Click and read Genesis 16

Key Verse:
Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
-Genesis 16:13 (NLT)

During my reading recently, I read about Hagar. God promised Abraham he would be the father of countless descendants. While waiting for the fulfillment of that promise, his wife, Sarah, decided to take matters into her own hands and offered her husband her servant, Hagar, to provide his heir.

(Note: Taking matters into our own hands is a topic I'll have to tackle in another devotion. Bad Idea! Ha ha)

What stuck with me after the reading was how hard life was for Hagar. She must have felt so alone, and of so little value. She was property, to be given to an old man for sex without her consent. How insignificant she must have felt!

This is an overused analogy, but it always amazes me when I'm in an airplane and look down at the ground. People become smaller and smaller and more and more insignificant the higher the airplane goes. Looking out that airplane window, I can relate to the feelings of the agnostic. Why would God care about me, someone so small in the sea of humanity?

But the Word tells us that God is intimately aware of us. He knows our name. He cares about our circumstances. We are known! We are seen! He knows even the number of hairs on our heads.

In today's reading, Hagar says, "You are the God who sees me!" Isn't that an amazing thing to consider? The God who is big enough to create the universe, and small enough that His fingerprints are seen in the tiniest of cells, saw Hagar, an insignificant servant girl with a rough life. He also sees you and me.

What a comfort to be KNOWN and SEEN. I join Hagar at being amazed by this truth.

Personal Application:
Do a study on the names of God. You can do a Google search or check out one of the many book on that subject. His names give insight into His character. Worship Him for who He is! Thank Him that in the midst of your everyday life, in the midst of the joys and sorrows, you are seen by the One who loves you. Trust him today and rest in knowing that you are not alone.

More of God's Word

1. You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day. -Psalm 139:15-16 (The Message)

2. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? -Psalm 113:5-6 (NIV)

3. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. - Matthew 10:30 (NIV)


Love,