God Sees Me: El-Roi

God sees me. Have you ever felt invisible? Thought no one cares or sees you or the problems you are facing? Well, God, El-Roi sees you. I am continuing this week with another name of God, El-Roi. Translated literally, El-Roi means the God who sees me. I have always loved this name for God. He is all-seeing. He looks ahead and sees what is coming and prepares the way for you. He provides direction when you are not sure which way to go.

For Hagar (Genesis 16), it was a desert experience that caused her to finally understand that she was not alone in the desert. El-Roi was there watching over her. He saw her anguish and pain. He was there when Sarai told her to leave and not come back. He was there, and He had a plan already in place when she wandered aimlessly into the desert.

God said to her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her. I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count. You are now pregnant, and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery.”

Hagar knew who was speaking to her. 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 (El-Roi).  If we look into Hagar’s future, we see other opportunities for her to call on El-Roi. In Genesis 21, once again, she finds herself an outcast, but this time, her son, Ishmael, is with her. Ishmael is now 14 years old; more a young man than a child. His mother is in anguish over his possible death; but has she forgotten the promise of God found in Genesis 16? She has been sent out to the desert once again, and again, God speaks to her. Ishmael (God hears) is on the brink of death, and the Angel of the Lord steps in to provide some much-needed counsel. “God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation. ”Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink. God was with the boy as he grew up” (Genesis 21:17-20)

Are you feeling alone, like no one cares, in a desperate situation? Are you having a desert experience? Does God seem to be ignoring you, not hearing you, nor answering your prayers? Call on El-Roi. God sees me, and He sees you. He has a plan; trust Him. It may not come to fruition when you think it should, but it will come to pass when the time is right. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”