THE VERSE
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 16:13
THE THOUGHT
Hagar, on the brink of disaster, discovered what suffering believers throughout the ages have treasured: the precious truth that God is “a God of seeing.” He is not far removed from our lives, nor is He oblivious to our pain. God does not close His eyes to suffering or stop His ears to our prayers. But to those who trust Him, He has promised forever to be a God of seeing, who sees and hears and acts for the sake of His beloved ones.
What comfort this brings in suffering! Hagar was despairing in the desert when she discovered that the eyes of the Lord had been on her the whole time. And in our darkest hour, the same God who saw Hagar is with us still. “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayer.” When grief threatens to overwhelm, or the pain seems to much to bear, or anxieties threaten to capsize your ship of faith, look not to the waves of circumstance but to your God who sees you where you are, loves you where you are, and has promised to work every horror and heartache for the eternal glory of those who love Jesus.
THE PRAYER
Thank you for Your promise, Lord, that Your eyes are on the righteous. Your eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward You. I am so grateful for Jesus, for His life and death which makes me righteous and blameless before You, so that all these precious promises become mine.
EXTENDED READING
Genesis 16:6-14
Psalm 34:15-22
2 Chronicles 16:7-9
THE QUOTE
“Incomprehensible and immutable is the love of God! For it was not after we were reconciled to Him by the blood of His Son that He began to love us, but He loved us before the foundation of the world, that with His only begotten Son we too might be sons of God before we were anything at all.” ~St. Augustine
This post is written by Brendan Beale, author of Cross Connections