The God who Sees {Hope from Hagar's Story}

Do you ever feel like no one really sees you? Are there those currently, or in your past, that have abused or mistreated you? Maybe it seems like others see the things that you do, the way you mother, the kind of friend you are, your personality. Yet, there are so many things inside that go unseen. All of this can lead to devastating lies that you are alone or unloved.

Hagar’s Story (click here to read it)
Hagar’s story is a hard story but also, a hopeful one. She is a slave--owned by masters who hold her very life in their hands. And they are not the wicked, but the righteous. They are the ones God has given His promise to make their offspring, countless generations to come, into a great nation.

Sarah, in her own bitter pain at not being able to have children, commands Hagar to go to Abraham and lie with him, so he may have a son. After this, when Hagar becomes pregnant, she looks down upon Sarah. Sarah treats her harshly, badly, and Hagar flees.

It is here, in her fleeing from her oppressors, that God finds Hagar. It says ‘the Angel of the Lord’ appears to her, who is considered a pre-incarnate form of Christ. He speaks promises to her of how he will bless her son and make him a great nation. She then becomes the first person to name God, calling Him, ‘the God who sees [me]’.

So, where is the hope in Hagar’s hard story, and ours?

Hagar finds hope in her desperation: The people, who are closest to God in all the world, are blind to the heart and soul of Hagar. She is treated as a physical object. Yet, it is in her desperation, her full acknowledgment of the gut-wrenching pain, that God finds her.

It is hard to be vulnerable in the face of those who have hurt us, consciously or unconsciously. But as we expose our wounded selves, God reveals Himself to us.

Hagar finds hope in her trust: The first thing ‘the angel of the LORD’ says to Hagar is to go back to her owner and obey her. God continues with His promise to make her son into a mighty nation. And Hagar hears and trusts God, and returns.

 As we admit the pain and hurt, it is easy to shut God out and blame Him, but the hope only comes as we trust Him--He is for us and He is good.

Hagar finds hope in her praise: It is a powerful moment when Hagar names God, ‘the God who sees [me]’. It is a creative expression of the beauty of God; a soul declaration in the midst of great suffering.

This moment is recorded in the Bible and becomes a testimony, to us, of the found in our praise as we trust God beyond all the pain, and even grave injustice, of a fallen world.

Our hope rests fully on ‘the God who sees’.

In the honest pain of Hagar’s story, we find each of our stories as women. There will always be some deep part of us which feels unseen. As we acknowledge this, and pour out our hearts, we behold the God of Hagar who sees us. And more, we see that we are are known and loved fully, by the God whose seeing of long ago, one day, acted in infinite compassion and birthed our forever hope, Jesus.

About Abby

I am wife to a wonderful man, mama to three precious now-little-but-soon-will-not-be loves. Each born in a different place--two states including 2 states and 2 countries. I am a farm girl who found her heart in the city. I can now claim fluency in 3 languages :: English, Spanish & Hungarian.This combined with the all-too-true 'mommy brain' explains much regarding my mental state most days;) I am a sojourner longing for Home. Yet, in my messy and broken, I embrace the moments given with all I have. I am seeking, praying, and learning again and again that it is for His Glory I live. My prayer is that my little life would make much of Him! I write regularly at Abigail Alleman.


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