And the angel also said, “You are now pregnant and will give birth to a son. You are to name him Ishmael (which means ‘God hears’), for the LORD has heard your cry of distress . . .” Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the LORD, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” So that well was named Beer-lahai-roi (which means “well of the Living One who sees me”). It can still be found between Kadesh and Bered. (Gen 16:11, 13-14 NLT-SE)
The World Stops
In the book 7 Principles of Making Marriage Work, John Gottman states that there is hardly any more powerful way to show your spouse love than by being there for them when they are upset. Check out this quote:
“I can’t emphasize enough how beneficial it will be to your relationship to give your partner the gift of being there when he or she is upset. After years of studying couples in the lab and working with them directly, it has become clear to me that happy couples live by the credo ‘When you are in pain, the world stops and I listen.’”
Family, the same is true of God. “The Bible is clear that God, in his relationship with you, lives by the credo, ‘When you are in pain, the world stops and I listen’” (103).
When you are in pain, the world stops, and God listens. God sees and hears you in your pain.
God’s Almighty Love
North African church father, Augustine of Hippo, prays, “For your goodness is almighty; you take good care of each of us as if you had no others in your care, and you look after all as you look after each.”
God cares for each of us with intense focus and intentionality, as if seven billion other people weren’t on earth, and God cares for all of us with the same personal touch he would use with an individual. God’s love is remarkable.
But aren’t we tempted to accept the opposite? We want to believe, “The world keeps going, and God doesn’t care.” Our pain leads us to conclude God has overlooked us.
A Woman in a Desperate Situation
Hagar had her back against the wall. She was Sarai’s maidservant, and Sarai dragged her into a horrible plan. God had promised Abram (aka Abraham) and Sarai (aka Sarah) that they would have a son through whom the entire world would be blessed. God made this promise even though Abram’s age made him as good as dead and Sarai’s womb was dead (Rom 4:18-20). In this plan, Sarai forced Hagar to be a surrogate mother in order to “help” God give her a son, but God wanted Sarai herself to have the baby. When does it ever go well to try to “help God out?”
Once Hagar was pregnant, Hagar looked down on Sarai. Sarai mistreated Hagar in response. Then Hagar ran away. She was in the wilderness by herself, pregnant. She was in a vulnerable and, therefore, a dangerous spot. But God showed up.
God Sees and Hears
God told Hagar that her son’s name would be a reminder that she was precious to God. Ishmael means, “God is listening.”
Could it be that during this time, when maybe you have given up on God and are running away from him, that God is reminding you of how precious you are to him? Could it be that, even though it’s hard to hear him, he is always listening to you when you cry out to him in pain?
The angel then gave her inspiration. There are many times in the Bible where an individual names a place or thing after God, but this is the only time in the Bible where a person gives a name to God. Inspired, she called God, “El Ro-ee,” which means, “The God who sees me.”
When you don’t see him, he sees you. When you don’t hear him, he hears you.
Remember North African church father, Augustine of Hippo, said, “For your goodness is almighty; you take good care of each of us as if you had no others in your care, and you look after all as you look after each.” This is what Hagar realized about God in her moment of inspiration.
After she received inspiration to name God, she expresses her amazement! She says, “Have I really seen the one who sees me?!” Not only does God see her but also he granted her the privilege of seeing him.
God not only wants you to know he sees you, he wants you to see him!
Even Better than Hagar
Hagar’s encounter with God was spectacular, but we have it better than Hagar. God showed up to Hagar through an angel, but he shows us to us through his only Son, Jesus. God sending Jesus is and was the living proof that God hears and sees us. Not only that, but Jesus is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15) and the exact imprint of God’s nature (Heb 1:3). Thus, God has appeared to us in the person of Jesus. If we know Jesus, we can utter with Hagar, “Have I really seen the one who sees me?!” Jesus is God showing up in our pain.
Christian, in what areas of your life do you need to know that God hears you? How is God inviting you to know that he sees you? Where are you seeing God during your struggles?