El Roi - The God who sees
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.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered. Genesis 16:13-14
We, human beings, have an innate need to be seen. To be seen by others, but more importantly by God, our creator. God sees us. He sees who we are. He sees our circumstances, our hurt, our pain, our brokenness, our needs. He sees us when no one else sees us. He sees us when we are rejected and ignored. Others may have forgotten us, but He has not forgotten us.
There are many stories in the Bible that testify to this. We see this in Genesis 16, which tells the story of Haggai’s encounter with El Roi, the God who sees when she felt rejected and alone in the wilderness. This is her story:
When Abraham and Sarai are unable to have children, Sarai (Sarah) coerces Abraham into having a child with her servant, Haggai. Once Haggai becomes pregnant, there is dissension between Sarai and Haggai, and Haggai flees from Sarai. When Haggai finds herself in that place of affliction, God sends an angel to comfort her and instruct her to return to her mistress. This meeting with the angel at the spring of water is to Haggai, a revelation of who God is – El Roi, the God who sees. She names the place where the encounter took place, “Beer Lahai Roi which means, the “well of the Living One who sees me.”
Just as God saw Haggai in that place of affliction, God sees you and me when we go through suffering and pain. He sees our confusion, our tears and our desperate cries for help. God sees everything we go through – big or small. He not only sees us, but He is concerned about us and answers when we call out to Him. Even for a handkerchief.
In her book, “He Cares for You,” Corrie ten Boom relates a story about how El Roi, the God who sees, saw her in the bleak concentration camp. Corrie and her sister, Betsie, were sent to the concentration camp, Ravensbrück, during the Second World War. When she woke up one morning with a bad cold, her sister Betsie encouraged her to pray for a handkerchief. Corrie found praying for a handkerchief in a concentration camp where many people were suffering and dying a crazy idea. But Betsie prayed anyway. The same day, a friend who worked in the infirmary knocked on the window of the barracks with a gift, as she called it. She gave it to Corrie and said that while she was sewing handkerchiefs from an old sheet, she felt God say to her to take a handkerchief to Corrie. This was such a confirmation to Corrie that even in that concentration camp, God saw her. We could say that, especially in that place of great suffering and pain, God revealed himself to her as El Roi, the God who sees.
God wants to reveal Himself to us as El Roi, when we trust Him just as Betsie did. She trusted God and had the faith to believe that He saw them in the concentration camp. She had the faith to believe that God was always present with them, even there in the concentration camp, and He saw their needs. He not only saw their needs but also miraculously provided for them. Psalm 34:15 (NIV) says,
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry.”
God’s eye is always upon us. When we cry out to the Lord, He sees us, and He hears us. And He answers our cries. He does this because He is a loving Father who cares for His children. He is concerned about every aspect of our lives. So we can stand on His promises that say:
“ And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (ESV)
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 (NLT)
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:29–31 (ESV)
When life gets hard, we can sometimes wonder if God is blind to all we’re facing. But there’s a beautiful reminder tucked into the words the prophet Hanani spoke to Asa in 2 Chronicles 16:9a: “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.” Lysa TerKeurst
Reflection
Have you wondered whether God truly sees you? whether He sees your tears, pain and heartache. Take time to meditate on the verses of scripture mentioned in the devotionals.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you see me and love me. Father, right now, I am feeling alone and afraid. Help me to have that assurance that you are with me and that you see me. Help me to know that You have not forgotten me. Deliver me from my fear, worry and anxiety. Father, I trust you and look to You for Your miraculous intervention in my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
