El Roi

A while ago I had broken the latch on my cupboard door and didn’t really bother to fix it, every time I would open it, I would make a mental note to try and fix it but I never got around to actually doing it and had forgotten about it. One day my dad was looking for something in my cupboard and had noticed the latch was broken, he asked me why I hadn’t told him about it and that he would've fixed it. I told him I didn’t think he’d care and that I broke it so why should he fix it, he responded with - "that’s my job, I fix things around here."

It's true, there’s not a day that goes by that he’s not fixing and maintaining things around here. I was surprised, the problem that had been kinda lurking in the background, that didn’t seem as important was important to my dad. The problem that I avoided, ignored or just didn’t pay attention to was important to my dad, similarly, there are areas of our lives that we avoid, ignore or just don't pay attention to that God finds important. Actually, He finds every part of us important and he wants us to invite him in, even if that means fixing something as silly as a latch.

On another occasion, one night I had this massive weight of anxiety, I laid in bed determined that someone was breaking in. I was frozen in fear of every sound, someone was inside the house, I was sure of it. I laid in silence hoping that I'd fall asleep. After every sound, I thought about calling my dad but I didn't wanna wake him, I laid in fear for so long and after another sound, I grabbed my phone, it was 3:30 and called my dad. He immediately picked up and I explained how I felt. He told me he was coming and after some time he came into my room and stayed with me until I fell asleep. The weight left and I felt safe. Similarly, it's the same with God, he immediately picks up the phone with no hesitation and that weight of anxiety vanishes in the presence of God.

El Roi means “The God Who Sees”. He is one who chases after us, He is the one who sees us when we feel lonely, all on our own, or when we just need the reminder that God is close.

The character of our God is seen in this beautiful word and in this story. Hagar gave God this name, Hagar the woman who was deserted, abandoned and betrayed.

She's often the person we neglect in the story of Abrahams Promise. Long story short, God had promised Abraham a child and instead of waiting on God, Abraham and his wife, Sarai had used the servant, Hagar to have a baby for them, Sarai was jealous of Hagar which resulted in her mistreating her and she ran away. Whilst Hagar was running away God spoke to her. God spoke to the "background character" and in Genesis 16:13 we see her response.

She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me."

Often times we feel like the background character or we feel as though our problems are unseen or unimportant. Like that latch, we often feel ignored. But our God sees us, he sees those 3 am tears and he calls out our name. And once we see him we realize that he has seen us all along. I love those words - "I have now seen the One who sees me."

How beautiful to know that we can bring anything to God, regardless of how unimportant it may seem - he longs for us to invite him in. Take a moment to reflect on the areas of your life that you haven't allowed God into and know that he sees you, every part of you and you are fully known and fully loved by Him.