EL ROI - The God Who Sees Me
By Shelly Donaldson
Have you ever felt alone, exhausted, rejected, fearful, sad, hopeless or any feeling that weighed you down? If so, you are not alone. I have too. During these moments in our lives, we desire to be seen, to be heard or for someone to notice the pain and brokenness we carry. For someone to simply listen.
I have walked through many moments in my life where the weight of what I felt inside seemed to heavy for me to carry. I had a hard time trying to find the words to express what I felt or figure out what to do next. Simply going through the motions of life. Wondering if I had done something wrong to experience such heaviness. Often times, I would find myself sitting by a window looking out to see the world…trying to see something different than what I saw inside myself.
As I am writing this, I take a moment and look out the window and am reminded of Hagar in the Bible. In Genesis 12-16, we find the story of Hagar who was a slave and handmaid for Abraham and Sarah. (Feel free to look up these scriptures to find the entire story of Hagar.) Hagar thought she was doing the right thing to bear Abraham and Sarah's first baby but after the birth of the baby Sarah became angry and mistreated Hagar. Hagar became fearful and in her distress she fled into the wilderness. It is often in our wilderness experiences that we have transformational moments that emerge us from the cocoon of our brokenness into a radiant butterfly. In the wilderness, Hagar found comfort and hope, for she had encountered God in her pain and brokenness. When she thought no one saw her or knew her, the Lord revealed himself to her and spoke promises over her life. She said in Genesis 16:13, “You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'I have now seen the One who sees me.'”
I share Hagar’s story as a reminder that no matter what we experience in life the King of the universe sees us, He knows us and He is ever present by our side. There is no pain, no brokenness, no rejection, no fear, no exhaustion, no sadness or hopelessness that God does not see. He sees it ALL AND HE WILL encounter us…He will meet us where we need to be met. He sees you.
Perhaps as you are reading this you need to be seen, you need to be known, or you need to give voice to something in your life. First, I would like to encourage you to go and sit with Father God and let him encounter you. Whether you do that through listening prayer, two-way journaling or with a prayer team.
Always remember that the Lord SEES You! He is El Roi!
Bio for Shelly Donaldson: Shelly Donaldson’s passion is to help others come alive in who God created them to be. From her own journey of learning what it means to live life to the fullest she understands the importance of persevering in discovering who you are. She has a life coaching/consulting business that helps individuals, couples, and teams to understand how they are uniquely wired. Feel free to visit her website at www.uniquelycreatedu.com
