The God Who Sees

[cmc]

Key Passage: Genesis 16
Topic: God's Care
And the angel of the LORD said to her, "Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the LORD has listened to your affliction....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 16:11,13; ESV)

Oh great! Another unhappy story featuring God's people and their mistakes.

We could do a lot of finger-pointing here. After all, Sarai was evidently impatient, more than a little desperate and she seemed to doubt God's promise of a son. So, she tried to help God along...but then she didn't like the results.

What about Abram? Shouldn't he have said no? Maybe he was a little shaky in the faith department that day, so he gave into his wife's demands.

And Hagar--yes, she was in an awkward position but to gloat, to try to be "lady of the house" and then run away when it all goes badly? Not good.

But let's skip the blame game and see what God does. God had a specific plan in mind for Abram's future. And even these mistakes and stupid choices wouldn't change that.

No, Hagar wasn't the wife of Abram's heart. Her son wasn't the son of the covenant. But that didn't mean God would ignore them.

Did you notice what happened in Genesis 16:7-14? God saw and He heard.

God saw this runaway woman; He heard the desperate mother-to-be. And He got involved. He offered compassion. He picked Hagar up, dusted her off and sent her home again but with hope for her future and her son.

God sees and God listens. Hagar realized that--she even called God by a new name, "the one who sees." And God hasn't changed since then.

When you make mistakes, when you've been treated badly or you've run away from trouble, when you're desperate and at the end of your rope, God sees. He hears your cry, and He gets involved. Sometimes it's obvious; sometimes it's more subtle, so subtle you don't even notice until later.

The God who sees is also the God who acts on your behalf and who loves you.

NotReligion - The God Who Sees

[CAPTAINZING2000]

hmm

I was going to post that and I didn't

great minds think alike

[cmc]

when you're desperate and at the end of your rope, God sees. He hears your cry, and He gets involved. Sometimes it's obvious; sometimes it's more subtle, so subtle you don't even notice until later.

The God who sees is also the God who acts on your behalf and who loves you.

This part is especially comforting to be reminded of!

[IO Storm]

He sees and gets involved.

Actually, He foreknew knew it..and was waiting..

How neat is that?