Abram’s wife Sarai was barren. So she gave to Abram her maid Hagar as a second wife so that she could perhaps obtain children by her. When Hagar conceived a child, she began to despise Sarai. There was friction between the two, and Sarai dealt harshly with Hagar. Hagar fled into the wilderness, abandoned and alone. But God knew her plight, and finding her by a spring of water on the way to Shur, sent His Angel to help her. He graciously provided her both instruction and promises of blessing. Comforted and encouraged, Hagar reverently called the name of the Lord, “You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees.” And the well was called Beer Lahai Roi, which is literally “Well of the One Who Lives and Sees Me.” (Genesis 16:1-14).
Who is the Lord? He is the God who sees.
When the way seems discouraging, our Lord is the God who sees. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours. When he was discouraged, even to the point of wishing death, the Lord graciously came to him, not with some great thunderous pronouncement, but with a still, small voice, providing both instruction and encouragement, saying, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also, you shall….Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (1 Kings 19:16-18). When we are discouraged, perhaps feeling like nobody understands, the-God-who-sees knows and understands our plight. There is great comfort there. Open your Bible and read the God-breathed words of instruction and promises of blessing.
When we are facing a situation or challenge that may look too great to bear, our Lord is the God who sees. Paul pleaded with the Lord three times that his thorn in the flesh might depart from him, and God answered him with the promise of sufficient grace to bear it. And the answer of the promise of God’s sufficient grace was sufficient for Paul: “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me….For when I am week, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:9-11). Peter instructs us to cast “all our care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6). Open your heart to Him in prayer; He will see you through.
When we are tempted, our Lord is the God who sees. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Remember, as Jesus did in time of temptation, what is written, and look for that way of escape and thank the God-who-sees for it.
When we are ridiculed or maligned for doing what is right for Christ’s sake, our Lord is the God who sees. Persecuted, the apostles prayed to the Lord that “with all boldness they may speak Your word” (Acts 4:29). The place where they were assembled was shaken. While we cannot expect the miraculous today, we pray to the God-who-sees. He can strengthen us while we walk by faith.
And when we find ourselves anxious about the future and the unknowns, our Lord is the God who sees. Paul instructs us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
There is great comfort in knowing that our Lord is the God-who-sees. We are not alone in times of discouragement, trial, temptation, persecution, or when anxiety knocks. Read in the Bible the words of the God-who-sees, words of instruction and promise of blessing He has written for us. And pray to the God-who-sees, who can provide grace to help in time of need.
-Larry Jones
“Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed
in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the
morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand
shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall fall on
me,’ even the night shall be light about me; indeed, the
darkness shall not hide from You; but the night shines as the day; the
darkness and the light are both alike to You” (Psalm 139:7-12).