Do you see me?

Genesis 16:13 ERV The Lord talked to Hagar. She began to use a new name for God. She said to him, “You are ‘God Who Sees Me.’” She said this because she thought, “I see that even in this place God sees me and cares for me!”

Feeling invisible and ignored is more common than we might want to think for people in suffering. Let that sink in a moment. Do you feel invisible or ignored today?

Now, consider using this thought for prayer for yourself and others you know living in hard places. There is much beauty to be found in rightly considering this thought, Scripture, and prayer. For the beauty of the truth is that you, your friend(s), and all of us here in our wildernesses of hard life circumstances have never been invisible to or ignored by Almighty God.

He is with us in the even there of Psalm 139:10. Just as He was with Hagar in Genesis 16, He is with us. He is with us, no matter how long, hard, painful, or lonely that wilderness may seem for now and the not-yet…

That truth bears repeating – He is with me and will never leave me (see Hebrews 13:5).

That truth bears repenting – God, please forgive me for doubting You are always with me.

That truth bears receiving – God, please open my eyes and heart to see how You are with me today.

That truth bears recording – God, thank You for how You meet with me in my wilderness by providing _______________ as a help to me. (Please take some time to think of more than one answer for that blank. Be specific in your gratitude to our Good God. He is deliberate and specific in His provision for your need. And when we seek Him, He is neither invisible nor able to ignore with His Presence in the details and directions of our days (see Proverbs 3:5-6).)

Now is always a good time for gratitude. Reading Scripture is a great way to prompt gratitude – on that note, please take some time to carefully read Genesis chapter 16 to see more of how God tenderly provided for Hagar.

He provided for Hagar in the wilderness then. He will provide for you in your wilderness now. His power, His majesty, His love haven’t changed. And no matter what we are living in or where we are today, we can rely on Him and His love for us.

1 John 4:16 NIV And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

And to this soil scientist, that truth of being able to rely on God and His love is far bigger and better news than today’s release date of Good Ground, Volume 2! You can purchase your own copy of this book (and one for a friend) at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other online book distributors, including Northeastern Baptist Press (nebpvermont.com). I’m praying this book might be something that helps you and your friend to feel loved, seen, and known by our Good God.

(spoiler alert – you don’t need to read Volume 1 before reading Volume 2)

Here’s the Amazon link:

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written by and copyrighted to Beth Madison, Ph.D., 2023.