El Roi
To be seen is a great gift. To have someone’s eyes light up and break out with a huge smile is not only welcoming but affirming.
On the flip side, to be alone and unseen is disheartening. No one acknowledges you and you feel invisible.
If it continues, your self-worth is affected. When you start to wonder why, the thought process can take you into a downward spiral.
What voices you choose to dwell on shape you. You can:
a) Take your thoughts captive. Think on “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Get into Gods word!
b) Your other choice is self-pity. It’s my party and I’ll cry if I want to! It’s my choice- except words matter- even silent words you tell yourself.
So many of our anxious thoughts or negative words are rooted in fear, but God’s word clearly tells us that fear doesn’t come from God. “For God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim. 1:7
Our God, El Roi, is the God who sees! Wherever you are and whatever you’re going through; Yahweh sees! He is working in your life. Trust Him “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” Philippians 1:6
There are many examples of God ‘seeing’ in the bible, though Hagar is the one who calls El Roi:
When Sara’s servant Hagar was mistreated and ran away; El Roi came to her weeping at the spring. Genesis 16:13 “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.” He saw her in her distress and gave her instruction and a hope. God blessed her with a son that also fulfilled his promise to “increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerus to count.” vs.9
Granny Jo’s feature on Leah, in the CTS series on ‘Women in the Bible’, is another great example. She was the unloved wife, the not so lovely sister, that God honored when she chose to acknowledge Him. He saw her right where she was. He knew what she was feeling. He worked in her life. She was blessed as a mother of 6 sons in a culture that defined motherhood as success. Through her son Judah’s lineage came the Messiah.
God chose David as king because he ‘sees’ the inward character. 1 Sam. 16:7 “Truly, God does not see what man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart.”
Be encouraged, God sees. He knows. He is moving. Trust Him.
Abba, Father, I know you love me. Help me to remember that everyday and cling to you every moment. Use me, Lord, to minister to others- to really see them, to affirm their worth. To help them know the God who sees them. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.
-Debbie
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