Found By El Roi, "The-God-Who-Sees-Me"

Mistreated.
Abused.
Afraid.

Nowhere to run, no one to help.

Pressed to the point of desperation Hagar, the servant of Abram and Sarai, fled from her home. Now alone, lost and baking beneath a Middle-Eastern desert sun the questions must have boiled up from her heart.

Where did I go wrong?
Since when did I deserve this?
Is the world this cruel?
When is it going to end?

Hagar was only doing what she was told to do by her mistress, Sarai, and now she was being punished for it. The pressure on Sarai was so great to produce an heir she finally, out of desperation, offered Hagar to her husband, Abram, as a contingency plan, so to speak, so through Hagar a male heir from the family of Abram, a name soon to be changed to Abraham, would come forth. The plan worked all too well and now Hagar was with child. And yet, being the good maidservant that she was, Sarai hated her for it and according the biblical account despised her and severely mistreated her because of it. It must have been a terrible situation for Hagar, so terrible in fact, she could no longer stand up under the harsh and unfair treatment from her mistress, and risking everything fled into the desert. And it was in the desert by an oasis that she found what she didn’t know she was looking for. Or to be more precise, she was found by The-God-Who-Sees.

And when Sarai dealt harshly with her, she fled from her presence. Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And He said, "Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai." The Angel of the LORD said to her, "Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand." Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, "I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude." And the Angel of the LORD said to her: "Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man's hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren." Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, You-Are- the-God-Who-Sees (Hebrew:  El Roi); for she said, "Have I also here seen Him who sees me?"
(Genesis 16:6-13 NKJV)

God sees me?! Who am I? I have heard how God speaks to my master Abram. His God has blessed him greatly and even promised children to him in his old age. But who am I that you would notice me? I am a nobody, an extra on the stage of life, yet, you have heard my affliction. I am not insignificant. The God of Abram has given me my own promise. He has given me hope and purpose and a destiny to fulfill. He has a plan for me! He cares for the servant, the outcast, the nobody. You are The-God-Who-Sees-Me!

It took a promise from the Promise Giver to birth within Hagar the resolve, the hope and the courage to return to her cruel mistress. I believe at that moment the God of Abraham became the God of Hagar too. She now had a reason to look beyond the momentary pain and see the fulfillment of a nation of her own within her womb. She had an encounter with The God-Who-Sees she would never forget and when the suffering became unbearable she would remember her visitation by God, her God, and cling to His promise. With His voice still resonating within her heart, she could return to the life she had fled. She had been given the special gift of hope, and hope would give her what she needed to endure mistreatment another day, another week, another month, and another life if that’s what it took.

In the life of Hagar, we see a God who notices the little person. And that’s refreshing, many of us relate to her. Who doesn’t battle with negative thoughts and stumble to the temptation of comparing ourselves to others? But understand that’s a trap either way you step. Think you’re better than someone and that often leads to arrogance and pride. And we know God resists the proud. But on the other hand, think yourself less than and that can lead to feelings of inferiority and low self-esteem. But really there are no little people in God’s eyes. He cares and loves everyone regardless of status, job title, or skin color.

But deep down some of us wonder if God shows favorites. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense why others get blessings that seem to elude us and stay just out of the reach of our grasp. Why them this time? But with Hagar, God demonstrates He is watching over and out for the little person. God may have had a fabulous covenant and plan for the world to be realized through Father Abraham, but it in no way made him blind or indifferent to those without a “leading role”. We may not be the next Billy Graham or James Dobson or Bill Bright, but nevertheless, God creates us exactly the way He wants and gifts us just as He desires so we are suited to fulfill our own fabulous plan given us by Him. How exciting!
He is El Roi, The-God-Who-Sees-Me too!