The God Who Sees Me

Happy Mother’s Day to all....all moms out there. Last year we looked at why honor moms…and it was because of the great privilege God gave women of the world of bringing image bearers of God into this world. Sharing God with them…helping them grow into the image bearers they were created to be…which we know leads to the best life ever.

We also know that we live in a broken world because of sin. And so there are difficult moments and seasons when it comes to being a mom or a mom figure. There are those who find it difficult to approach the “mother’s day” that many celebrate.

Being a parent just can be an up and down roller coaster life. Both because of situations and our own choices. And it in situations like this that we wonder…does anyone see me and the difficult walk I’m in right now?

Many of you are not mothers (because you are men; you never will be mothers), but we were all once children, and children like to be watched. I bet you said to your mom, "Hey, mom, watch this! Look what I can do! Look at me!" And your mothers looked every time, no matter what goofy thing you were doing (and you know you did some goofy things). We all know what that's like as a child, wanting to be seen by our moms.

Many of us have also been a mom who wonders if she is ever seen—because there comes a point as a mom where you begin to think you are invisible. Nicole Johnson has written a beautiful article called, "I Am Invisible," and I am going to read a part of it:

It all began to make sense—the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I am on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. And inside I am thinking, Can't you see? I am on the phone. Obviously not. No one can see if I am on the phone or cooking or sweeping the floor or even standing on my head in the corner because no one can see me at all. I am invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more. 'Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this?' Some days I am not a pair of hands; I am not even a human being; I am a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I am a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I am a car-to-order—'right around 5:30 please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated. But now they had all disappeared into the peanut butter never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone.

I don't know if you feel like that as a mom, but we are going to look in our Bible story at a mother and child to explore a truth that is relevant for all of us. This is a story in Genesis 16 about a mother and child who both found themselves in situations where they felt unseen and unworthy.

Read Genesis 16:1-15

Genesis 16:1–15 NIV

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2 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. 3 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. 4 He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. 5 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.” 6 “Your slave is in your hands,” Abram said. “Do with her whatever you think best.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her. 7 The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur. 8 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. 9 Then the angel of the Lord told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her.” 10 The angel added, “I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.” 11 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. 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 all his brothers.” 13 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.” 14 That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. 15 So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.

A misunderstood mother

In this story we meet a mother, Hagar. She is an immigrant from Egypt here in a foreign land. She is running away from a household where her body has been used to produce offspring for an infertile couple.

Hagar has been mistreated. She is trapped in a system where she feels as though she is invisible. She is a servant of the family. That’s her roll. Not many rights or privileges beyond that. We can assume that she was well taken care…but that would have been only up until now.

It would seem to me that Hagar doesn't know what she wants. She knows what she doesn't want—she doesn't want to be treated as a non-person, as an invisible person. She doesn't realize what her greatest need is until she meets the God who meets that need. And she names him in Verse 13, El Roi—"the God who sees."

I wonder what name you would give God if you had the chance to name him—the God who loves, the God who comforts, the God who guides, the God who forgives, the God of the second chance? Whatever you choose would actually say as much about your need as it would about the character of God because it is through our need that we experience God in our deepest way.

Hagar, who might feel insignificant and misunderstood, is actually a very significant person. Hagar has the longest conversation of any woman—and almost of any man—in the whole of the Old Testament with God. Hagar, the Egyptian maid, is the only person in the Bible who gives God a name. Up to this point, God gave himself names. He introduced himself to the children of Israel as Elohim—"the Creator," Yahweh—"the Covenant maker," El Shaddai—"the Almighty."

"I have now seen the God who sees me," Hagar declares.

What does Hagar’s declaration mean for us? Whether we’re a mom, dad, child, grandparent, single…whatever situation you’re in…what does her declaration say about our Creator?

God sees you

Growing up I was quiet and in the background…introvert for sure. Shy. So with that there was a lot of time to think.

I grew up in the church…here in this church. So I grew up knowing the faith. I think there were times that I knew it well but maybe didn’t know it well. Head knowledge rather than heart. I knew it made sense and that it was right…logically. But knowing God was different.

I asked the question many of you have probably asked.

“God, if you’re real....” fill in the blank. Make this happen or do this wild thing or show yourself or talk to me so I can hear you. So many ways to ask that type of question.

And if you were like me…it didn’t happen quite like you wanted it to. It didn’t cause disbelief…but it wasn’t a connection you thought could happen.

And really…I think when it comes down to it…you wanted to be seen. You wanted…I wanted to know if God saw me.

We all have a fundamental need to be seen. That's why we say, "Watch me, Mommy! Watch me, Daddy!"

We’ve probably all seen movies or TV shows where parents are racing to get somewhere when their child wants to show them something they made or created…or just wants to talk. And in the race of the day the mom or dad just feels the need to get everyone in the car and off to the next thing. I’ve been that parent …guilty as charged.

William Tammeus said, "You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around—and why his parents will always wave back." Why do we need to be seen? Why do we long for a God who sees and what difference does that make to us? It makes all the difference in the world because to be seen is to be significant, is to know our roots.

David says in Psalm 139:16

Psalm 139:16 CSB

16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.

That’s what David figured out.

There’s a set of movie parodies…parodies about Jesus. A group took very old Jesus movies and made them into parodies for a sermon series and they are hillarious. One clip shows Jesus coming up to the disciples saying…Ok everyone…I’ve seen what you all have been doing. And he goes, comically, to each one telling them what they’ve done wrong. Smoking a cigarette, saying a bad word when one stubbed his toe, someone laughing when one stubbed his toe, dancing too close to the girlfriend....

Many people see Jesus like that. Kind of …creepy Jesus. Hiding out to catch you when you do something wrong. And sometimes we feel like that don’t we?

Do you know why we feel like that?

Because we don't actually trust God.

In God’s presence we feel care concern love ... when we know that, we can relax in his presence. Think about Eden before sin…and then after. Before they walked with God…after sin and doubt…they hid from Him…but He still came looking for them.

To be seen is to be significant and I think there is a “safeness” in that. The Israelites, while in Exile…we talked about that a number of months ago…I’m sure there were times when they thought…does God still see us? However, through the mouth of the prophet Jeremiah God said, "My eyes will watch over them for their good."

"My eyes see them. I will watch over them."

What it means to be seen

Do you know that feeling, to be quieted by the love of God, where you just dare to sit and be loved and be seen? Psalm 33:13-15

Psalm 33:13–15 NIV

13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.

Matthew 6:6 NIV

6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

God sees you.

I don't know if the thought of God seeing you makes you kind of cringe or it gives you courage. For Hagar, it gave her courage; she did go back to live in the home of Abraham and Sarah.

A child misunderstood

Hagar's son grew up and it became unbearable again, so she left again. I want you to turn to Genesis 21. Now we see Hagar being met by God again, running away. And God opens her eyes to see something she didn't realize was there, which he always does.

Read Genesis 21:8-20

Genesis 21:8–20 CSB

8 The child grew and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son mocking—the one Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham. 10 So she said to Abraham, “Drive out this slave with her son, for the son of this slave will not be a coheir with my son Isaac!” 11 This was very distressing to Abraham because of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed about the boy and about your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac, 13 and I will also make a nation of the slave’s son because he is your offspring.” 14 Early in the morning Abraham got up, took bread and a waterskin, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her and the boy away. She left and wandered in the Wilderness of Beer-sheba. 15 When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes 16 and went and sat at a distance, about a bowshot away, for she said, “I can’t bear to watch the boy die!” While she sat at a distance, she wept loudly. 17 God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What’s wrong, Hagar? Don’t be afraid, for God has heard the boy crying from the place where he is. 18 Get up, help the boy up, and grasp his hand, for I will make him a great nation.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well. So she went and filled the waterskin and gave the boy a drink. 20 God was with the boy, and he grew; he settled in the wilderness and became an archer.

Feel at the end of your rope…your resources…others relying on you have you feeling overwhelmed and dried out…so to speak?

Hagar met the God who sees her.

Moses, when inspired by God to write Genesis, Moses saw it fit to write that Hagar was from Egypt. The land of many gods. Hagar probably grew up as a young child knowing and bowing before and sacrificing to all of these “g”ods. As I read Genesis, it seems fairly clear that many times these were fallen angels…doing all they could to take glory from God and claim it for themselves…keeping people away from the 1 true God....

In fact when God brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He said that He wanted to show himself to the Israelites…and to destroy the “g”ods of Egypt.

It seems that growing up under those in power in Egypt…she never met a “g”od who cared or loved… And here she sees God at work in her life…and she names Him “El Roi”....the God who sees me. An individual. With care and concern…and promises.

You know the story of Job. Job went through unimaginable pain. He lost all his children, all his possessions, everything.

Job knew misery…and in his misery…God comes to him and shows himself to him....Job replies...

Job 42:5 CSB

5 I had heard reports about you, but now my eyes have seen you.

Here’s the picture…even when Job saw life at it’s worst, he recognizes God as someone who would come to him…and say here I am. I’m here for you. I see you.

Seeing the God who sees us

What difference does all this make in our lives? Not much if we don’t do something.

John 3:16 NIV

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

That’s what God did. For all the moms and the rest of us out there. He sees us, knows our daily needs and our biggest need. And He’s working in those things....

But…we still need to respond …we need to look back at Him.

Psalm 32:8 CSB

8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go; with my eye on you, I will give counsel.

We need to see the grace He is offering through His son Jesus. Then we need to be encouraged that He’s there everyday…His eyes on us…to help us. guide and counsel…to give wisdom and strength…when we’re weak and wondering what side is up. God is there for us.

So moms, your job is not easy. And the world around you is not perfect....and children aren’t perfect either…but in all of that…there is a God who is always there…and always watching…not so he can capture us when we make mistakes or sin…but so He can catch us when we fall…and lift us back up.

Conclusion

Hagar, the frustrated mom who was at the end or herself....had longed to be seen

...and she met the God who sees. She said, I have now seen the God who sees me.

Prayer....

Lord we know you are the God who sees. Sometimes Satan will keep us from remembering that. Today we recognize that you are there for us caring for us looking for us…wanting to help us live as you intended for us to live.

Time for the group:

What name would we give you today?

Lord we ask that you bless all the moms out there today.

In your son’s name, Amen.