If they gave out medals for Veterans of Online Dating, I would win one. Despite the claim on their website, “every 14 minutes, someone finds love on EHARMONY,” I never even got a date on eharmony.com. “Why doesn’t he see what a wonderful person I am? God, don’t you understand how lonely I am?”
But now I believe El Roi, the God who sees, notices me. He cares for me more than any man ever could. God knows everything about me but still loves me completely, no matter what.
The name for God, El Roi, appears only one time in the Bible.
God promised Abram (later renamed Abraham) offspring as numerous as the stars, along with a new land to live in. (Genesis 15) But his wife Sarai (later renamed Sarah) was barren. Instead of waiting on God’s plan, Sarai offered Hagar, her Egyptian slave, to Abram so she might bear a son since Sarai could not. (Genesis 16:1-6)
When Hagar became pregnant, the relationship between mistress and slave grew strained. Hagar looked at Sarai with contempt. Sarai mistreated Hagar so severely she ran away into the desert.
God met Hagar in her misery. “So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me’” (Genesis 16:13, ESV).
Lessons learned from Hagar’s story
The God who sees us
God did not abandon Hagar. And He does not abandon us either. God is with us, as He was with Hagar. God knows everything about us, but He still loves us with unconditional and steadfast love.
I love the song by for King & Country, God Only Knows. The lyrics speak of El Roi, the God who sees the real me.
God only knows the real you
There’s a kind of love that God only knows 1
God doesn’t always offer a quick fix
Have you ever prayed to God to solve a problem or take away your suffering? And did you expect it to happen immediately? In Hagar’s case, God did not solve all of her problems. In fact, God told her to go back to Sarai, “The angel of the LORD said to her, ‘Return to your mistress and submit to her’” (Genesis 16:9, ESV)
Sometimes our suffering has a purpose. To grow, to learn, to help others in the same situation. God knows the big picture.
In my own life, my cancer diagnosis led me to help others on a breast cancer hotline. Perhaps my suffering occurred so I could help others. It also led me back to God.
God cares about the details of our lives
God engaged Hagar in a conversation by asking her some questions, “And he said, ‘Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?’ She said, ‘I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai’” (Genesis 16:8, ESV).
God knew where Hagar came from and where she was going. But He wanted to hear it from Hagar. He asked Hagar questions to develop a relationship with her.
God cares about our lives. Ask Him for wisdom and strength, for the small things and the big decisions.
I experienced a tough season in my life when I moved to a different city to start a new job. (Read the story here.) I wish I had prayed and given it all to God. I regret I did not ask God for wisdom and strength during this season. I thought God only cared about the big events in my life, not disagreements with a coworker.
Know and trust El Roi, the God who sees us. When others overlook us or don’t understand what we are going through, God sees and understands.
Reference
1. Joel David Smallbone, Jordan Reynolds, Josh Kerr, Luke Smallbone. God Only Knows lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc, Audiam, Inc, Warner Chappell Music. Source: LyricFind.
