The God Who Sees Me

Scripture: Genesis 16; 21:8–20

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.’ — Genesis 16:13

During the construction of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., a visitor stopped to watch an elderly stone carver working painstakingly at his craft. The visitor noted that when this particular piece of carving was put in place, it would be next to the wall, where no one could see it.

“Why are you working so hard on something no one will ever see?” asked the amazed onlooker.

“God will see it,” replied the carver.

Sometimes it is a little unsettling to realize that ours is a God who is all-seeing! We’d rather put our mistakes and blemishes in the shadows, in a corner, against a wall —anything to get them out of sight. At times we succeed in hiding that which we wish to hide from other people, but we never can hide it from God’s penetrating, purifying gaze:

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. — Proverbs ­15:3

But there are other times when, like Hagar, we marvel with gratitude at the God who sees.

• The problems we encounter that no one else seems to understand — God sees.

He will not let your foot slip — He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you — the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm — He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore. — Psalm 121:3-8

Our Seeing God penetrates and purges the dark corners of our sinfulness.

Our Seeing God protects and preserves us from danger. Our Seeing God feels our private pain along with us.

Seeing God, we praise Your name! Today we trust You with the thoughts of our hearts and the works of our hands which are unseen by others. Today we trust You with the future we cannot see, grateful that You will see us into it and through it.

We sometimes fool ourselves into thinking God is occupied by other, more important matters What worries have you let fool you into thinking God doesn’t see? Are there dark corners you wish God wouldn’t see? Write about them and hand them over to God.

Excerpted with permission from All the Glorious Names by Mary Foxwell Loeks, copyright Mary Foxwell Loeks.

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Your Turn

God sees it all; the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the ugly. He doesn’t miss a beat of your heart, much less everything you do and that is done to you. That might seem daunting at times, but it is also so deeply comforting. There’s no hiding with Him, so tell Him everything! ~ Laurie McClure, Faith.Full