I came across a name of God that I had not heard often before, possibly because it only appears in the Bible once. It is El Roi, the God who sees me. (Genesis 16:13-14) Hagar, servant of Sarai, has become pregnant because she has been offered to Abraham by her mistress. Sarai has developed some serious jealousy and is lashing out at Hagar, even though the whole thing was Sarai’s idea in the first place. Hagar escapes to get away from the torment, and God meets her in the desert. And my expectation for the next part of this story is that He rescues her, carries her off to a new land and allows her to prosper in comfort and happiness. But that’s not what happens.
Instead, God tells her to go back to Sarai, the one who is hurting her. He tells her to put up with it! He also tells her He’s going to bring a big family from her, and that her son was going to be a troublemaker. Kind of a mixed bag of promises, I guess.
But her response is amazing—You are the God who sees me! I am not invisible! I’m not a worthless woman used only for her working uterus! She rejoices in His talking to her at all. And then she returned to her horrible situation.
What?!
He didn’t get her out of there! He didn’t even keep her from further troubles down the road when Sarah (formerly known as Sarai) kicks her and her son out when Sarah gets pregnant and has her own child. But He had given her a hope. And that hope sustained her through all of it. He also comes back later to talk to her when she’s out in the desert again after she gets kicked out of her home, and reminds her that she isn’t forgotten.
In our current situations, He does even better. He gives us a hope for a future free of pain and suffering. But He also gives us the gift of being in Christ and Christ being in us, so that we have access to a different source for life.
Generally, I want to be rescued OUT of a situation, but sometimes He provides rescue IN a situation. Sometimes freedom is possible while still being physically imprisoned. Sometimes healing happens when the body isn’t well. A sweet friend recently told me that peace is not the absence of conflict. Peace is in Jesus, and you can have it regardless of what’s happening around you.
I have a painting I purchase several years ago that I sometimes take to counseling with me. It’s a crazy-looking scene—lightning crashing, waters raging over a waterfall, ominously black sky. But it’s labeled “Peace in the Midst of the Storm” and when you look hard enough, you can spot a tiny little dove sitting in her nest in a crevice of the rock under the waterfall. She does indeed look peaceful. Sometimes, we want the storm to stop to experience peace. But more often, God brings peace in the middle of the storm.
Psalm 23 talks about the Lord being our Shepherd in all sorts of situations. The circumstance doesn’t have to change for Jesus to be our Shepherd. He already is the Shepherd and is leading us along, whether in green pastures and quiet waters, or in the valley of the shadow of death.
Even through the storm, though, God sees you. You are not invisible! His Life provides the peace in the middle, and hope to see past the storm to the place He has for you.
She answered God by name, praying to the God who spoke to her, “You’re the God who sees me! “Yes! He saw me; and then I saw him!” Genesis 16:13-14 (MSG)
The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in his luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where he restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure and leads me along in his footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to his name. Lord, even when your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for you already have! You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for you are near. You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of your Holy Spirit; you give me all I can drink of you until my heart overflows. So why would I fear the future? For your goodness and love pursue me all the days of my life. Then, afterward, when my life is through, I’ll return to your glorious presence to be forever with you! Psalm 23 (TPT)