El Roi
Friday, February 13
Genesis 16:13 (NIV)
“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.”
Devotion
Hagar’s story is one of deep loneliness and quiet pain. Mistreated, and caught in circumstances beyond her control, she fled into the wilderness feeling invisible to the very people who should have cared for her. Sarah and Abraham saw her only through the lens of their situation, but God saw her fully.
In the middle of the desert, a place of emptiness and uncertainty, God met Hagar personally. He didn’t send a message through someone else. He came to her. In that sacred encounter, Hagar discovered a life-changing truth: the greatest blessing is to be seen by God.
When Hagar called Him El Roi, “the God who sees me,” she was declaring more than awareness. She was proclaiming that God saw her pain, her future, and her need — all at once. He saw ahead of time what she could not see. Where Hagar saw only survival, God saw provision. Where she saw rejection, God made a promise. He revealed that He was already working a plan to sustain her and her son.
The same God who met Hagar in the wilderness sees you. He sees the places where you feel overlooked, misunderstood, or forgotten. Nothing about your situation surprises Him. He is the God who looks ahead and prepares a way before you arrive there. Even in seasons that feel barren, His vision extends beyond the present moment into a future filled with His provision.
To have God turn His face toward you is to live under the assurance that you are never unseen and never alone. His gaze is not passive, it is active with compassion and purpose. When He sees, He responds. He provides springs in deserts and hope in hard places.
Today's Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank You for being the God who sees me. In moments when I feel overlooked or forgotten, remind me that Your eyes are always upon me. Help me trust that You are already making a way ahead of me and providing what I need. Let me rest in the assurance of Your loving attention. In the Name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Apply It Today
Today if you feel discouragement arising, pause and acknowledge God’s presence. Whisper: “You are the God who sees me.” Choose to trust that He is already preparing provision and direction for what lies ahead, and take one step forward in faith.
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