El Roi is the God Who Sees Me.  By Jacqueline Pugh.

“And she called the name of the LORD that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?”

Genesis 16:13 KJV

The first person in the Bible to give God a name was Hagar.  Hagar was the slave of Sarai the wife of Abram.  Abram and Sarai were promised a son by God and when years passed and Sarai’s womb was still closed, Sarai decided to “help God out”.  She offered her slave Hagar to her husband Abram to marry for a son.  Sarai began to dislike Hagar and began treating her poorly.  Hagar became upset and fled.  While she wandered, the Angel of the Lord spoke to her.  Here in this moment is where she called God “El Roi” which means “Thou God seest me”.

Have you ever felt unheard?  Or walked in a room of people and no one acknowledged you?  Have you ever been in a conversation with someone, and they just walked off to speak with someone else?  Or completed a big project at work and your boss provided no feedback?  Did you cook an extravagant meal for your family, and no one said a thing about it?  Did you do something different to your hair but no one noticed?

God notices.  He sees everything you do, not only does He see the outside of you, but He sees your heart around the things you do.

Hagar was a slave, she did what she was told, and Sarai did not see that.  All Sarai saw was what she could not be in that moment.  God saw Sarai, He saw her even after the birth of Hagar’s son, when Abraham and Sarah were reminded that God promised them a son and she laughed.

Have you ever doubted that God sees you?  When I was going through an impossible season in my life, I felt like no one saw me and I felt as if even God didn’t see me. I was married to my former husband for about 10 years when it came to a head in 2020.  My wonderful, loving, doting husband became a monster and I needed to flee from him for mine and my children’s safety and sanity.  I got a divorce.  The fallout of my marriage was so shocking for my children and I that what we experienced devastated us.  I ran to God angrily asking Him, “Lord, do you seeing what’s going on here?”  Because I felt no one saw the fallout of my marriage or the fallout from the church and community of believers of which we were a part.  It was so scandalous because not only did I feel like God did not see me, but also the body of believers.  I lived five years doing life with those who did not discern it.  I felt all alone in that season and thought no one cared for me or my children.

In that time of darkness, I was accused of many things from being a liar, an abusive mother and disconnected wife.  I felt like nobody saw us and felt shunned from our community and church.  Feeling like Hagar, I ran as far as I could afford to run and sought after God in a way that I had never sought God in my life; stripped, vulnerable and desperate for God to see me.  I showed God my anger, my sadness, my hurt, and pain, and I gave it all over to Him, holding full arguments with God.  Then one day in my worship, through my tears God spoke to my spirit, and He loved on me where I was.  He didn’t apologize to me.  God showed me where He was through all the pain and heartache that I had experienced for the last seven years.  When no one else saw what I was going through with my husband, when no one else knew the depths of the trauma, God showed me that He was there all the time and He told me what to do.  He told me what I needed to do, and He gave me grace and mercy through it all.  He showed me my life and He showed me that He is the God that sees me.

Hagar was in this valley of her life; she was forced into a marriage to her mistress’ husband.  She was forced to have a baby with a man she did not love, but out of duty she had a baby for her mistress.  Instead of Hagar being loved by her mistress for doing this thing, she was hated, disgusted, and disregarded by her.  She couldn’t take it anymore and like me, she ran.  The Angel of the Lord came to her, and she realized that God does see her.

When you are in a valley and you think that no one loves you, no one wants to be around you, people don’t like you or no one sees you for what you are contributing, remember God’s name, El Roi, the God Who Sees You.  He’s the God who sees me, He sees everything that we are going through. I encourage you just call on Him, call on the God who sees you and God will reveal to you how much He sees you.  Just think about how He sees everything that you are doing. He is acknowledging your hard work and the things that you are doing to keep yourself His.  He acknowledges your prayers, and He sees you.  Don’t ever think that God does not see you.  He sees you in all your valleys and He sees you on all your mountains; so, when you are stuck in a valley, remember, He is the God that sees you, El Roi.