“Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
Genesis 16:13 (NKJV)
13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”
While we are all cut off from visiting each other or gathering together at church, it can be easy to think that you are all alone. We are facing a threat not only to our way of life but our very lives. The scary thing is that we cannot see it or touch it. We won’t know until we get sick if it has even visited us or someone near and dear to us.
Hagar was a foreign servant girl in Abraham’s household. A servant is a polite way of saying female slave, she had no rights, no control over her own life. As Sarah’s maid, she did hold a special place in the household. So much so that when Sarah remained childless she suggested that Abraham father a child with Hagar. Needless to say, it did not go well for Hagar, Sarah dealt harshly with her and Hagar fled into the wilderness. There she was, a single woman, pregnant and alone in the desert. God saw her and the Angel of the Lord told her of God’s plans for her son and sent her home. The message was so personal and so direct that she cried out Genesis 16:13 (NKJV) 13Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?”. Fast forward 16 years and once again Hagar is evicted from the camp and with Ishmael, her son, is left to fend for herself to the point where Ishmael is near death. God again intervenes and opens her eyes to see His provision for her and to remind her of his promises for Ishmael. He even cared for a slave girl because of His promise.
God sees and hears our every problem. He understands our fears and failures, but He does not want us to live in them. He is always there to lift us up and get on with the plans that He has for each and every one of us. His word says that they are good plans and not harmful. They are there to give us hope. That is something we as Christians have that those without God can never understand (Jeremiah 29:11).
Friends be careful what you receive. When Satan brings a depressed mood or a bad attitude to you, resist him ( 1 Peter 5:8-9). Tell him, “This is not for me, and I don’t receive it.” It’s his job to offer it, and it’s your job to resist it. Paul says, “Do not give the devil a foothold” (Ephesians 4:27, NIV). You must learn to discern his influence and rebuke him before he enters your life. Any mood that’s not in agreement with God’s Word is Satan trying to “plug in” to you. He wants you to believe that you can’t change. When you say, “That’s just the way I am” or “I’m frightened and in a terrible mood today,” you’re accepting what you ought to reject! Don’t do it!
Settle for nothing less than the attitude God wants you to have: “If anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things” (Philippians 4:8, NIV). Don’t let the devil have your day, your family, your moods, or your words. Nurture what you want to grow, and starve what you want to die.
Feed the vision God has put within you and “pull the plug” on any doubt, thought or attitude that robs you of God’s best.[1]
[1] I have used parts of this for this devotional. Bob Gass, A Fresh Word For Today : 365 Insights For Daily Living (Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos Publishers, 1998), 169.