The God who sees me



(Photo: Steve McCurry, National Geographic)

“I feel like God has seen me.” These words were spoken to me by one of the women after the Free Range Chicks conference in November. We had had a wonderful couple of days, and it is this simple but powerful statement has stayed with me. When she said it, I thought immediately of Hagar in Genesis 16. Pregnant and alone, she has fled from abuse into the wilderness. And there, by a spring, God sends an angel to her who tells her about the son she will have, and tells her she must return to the camp. The encounter leads her to worship this God who has seen her. What an amazing thing!


Hagar was a woman, a slave, pregnant and vulnerable. Running from the people she knew, she would have had no hope for the future. It was likely that she and the baby would have been killed if they had been found, or they would’ve died in the wilderness. She was worthless in the sight of the world. But one who looks with different eyes had seen her. The God who seeks out the one missing sheep, the God who comes to seek and save the lost, this God was watching. The effect of this God seeing her, telling her He knew all about her, and giving her hope for the future was powerful. She calls God ‘the God who sees me’ or ‘who looks after me’, and wonders how she can still be alive despite having seen this God herself. An encounter with God the Almighty One should have been the final straw meaning certain death for someone who thought they were worthless, but it is the opposite. Suddenly she realises that she has value in the eyes of God. God has found her, and literally turns her life around, sending her back with purpose. When we allow ourselves to be seen by God, it opens our eyes to who we really are. God is our Creator and so understands utterly who we are. He has mercy on our failings and reveals who He has called us to be. This can and should give us the confidence to become that woman or man. It is a powerful gift to be seen for who we really are.


As we move towards Christmas in the rush of life, my prayer for you is that you will find a moment to be still. Perhaps take that moment now to pause and become aware of God with you. Become aware that this is the God who sees you. And allow that realisation to change you. The God who sees you is the one who loves you. This Christmas time this is God’s gift to you, that you are seen, really seen, by Him.