God Hears, God Sees, God Cares

By: Gina Welsh

Wednesday, February 5, 2025

The angel of the Lord also said to her: “You are now pregnant and you will give birth to a son. You shall name him Ishmael, for the Lord has heard of your misery." Genesis 16:11 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

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed you didn't think you could take one more thing? Have you ever been mistreated so badly that you felt your only option was to leave? We all experience heartaches and heartbreaks in life, and some of them may help us identify with Hagar. In that story we learn the Lord saw and heard Hagar's misery right when she felt all alone. We can also see the kindness and concern God had for Hagar and her child in the name He instructed her to use. Verse 11 says God told Hagar to name her son Ishmael, which in Hebrew means, "God hears."

Hagar's encounter with The Lord was so profound, she gave the LORD a name. In our verse above, (V13) She said, "You are the God who sees me." The ESV translation of V13 says it like this: So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me." Hagar understood that God didn't just see her, He was going to take care of her and her baby. In that wilderness encounter, God promised to be with Hagar during the hardest season of her life.

“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalms 56:8 (NLT)

Christ Follower, God sees you! He also promises to look after us just as He did for Hagar. Throughout scripture there is a repeating theme of God's intimacy, love and concern for His people. Remember when the Children of Israel were oppressed and distressed in Egypt? In the book of Exodus God reassures them; “I have seen the suffering of My people in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of the men who make them work. I know how they suffer." Exodus 3:7 (NLV).

Since we are God's children, we can be sure He sees us, hears us, and is aware of our problems. But God didn't just see and hear His people's problems, He took care of them! The same God who saw Israel still sees and hears us, and He is still taking care of His children!