Devotional: I See You
Few things are as powerful as eye contact. Eye contact conveys so many emotions. But the greatest thing it conveys is love. In Genesis 16:1-15, we see a slave girl who was mistreated her whole life and never had a choice in the matter. Finally, she fled. Although she was unwanted and unseen, God pursued and found her. This passage shows that God sees our precise location in life, He sees all the details of our situation, and He sees the solution that carries His blessings. Though people robbed her of her dignity, God ultimately elevated Hagar so highly that she, a slave girl, gave God a new title: the God who sees me.
Questions for Meditation
- Have you been living like you are isolated and unseen by people? Have you been living like you are unseen by God? What is your story of living and feeling unseen?
- Read Genesis 16:3. Have you experienced things that were not your choice – whether it’s being abused, betrayed, abandoned, or anything else? How did those circumstances affect the way you think about God?
- Read Genesis 16:7. Who initiates the search for us when we flee from God or from our painful situation? Why? When you sense a need for God, is that you looking for God, or the other way around?
- Read Genesis 16:8. Despite Hagar feeling unseen, did God know her name and her situation? Does God know your name and your situation? What sin or struggle in your life has God seen?
- Read Genesis 16:9-10. What was God’s solution in verse 9? What was God’s promise in verse 10? By obeying, was Hagar submitting to Sarah, or to God? Why are God’s blessings tied to our submitting to Him?
- Read Genesis 16:13. How does Hagar respond to seeing that God sees her? What name or title did Hagar give God? Do you give names and terms of endearment to strangers, acquaintances, or to those closest to you?
- What names have you given God throughout the blessings and the pain? Is God telling you that the solution is submission? Have you sought Him intimately enough to see that He sees and pursues you?