When God Showed Up For Hagar

When God Showed Up For Hagar

Scripture: Genesis 16:7–14

Hagar ran. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to turn, and no one to defend her. Cast out and desperate, she wandered into the wilderness, heart pounding with fear and shame. Alone, abandoned, and overlooked by the world, she might have thought God had forgotten her too.

But God showed up. Not with thunder or a crowd, but with a voice that called her by name:

“Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

God sees. That simple truth is radical in the wilderness of her life. God sees. He sees her pain, her fear, her struggle to survive. He does not scold, ignore, or judge. He meets her in the desert, comforts her, and gives her hope:

“Return to your mistress and submit to her, and I will greatly multiply your offspring.”

In that moment, God reveals Himself as El Roi — The God Who Sees. He is personal, attentive, and caring even when the world turns its back. Hagar had been invisible to everyone else, but God noticed her. His love does not depend on human approval. His presence does not require perfection.

Hagar’s response is telling. She calls God by the name she now knows Him by:

“You are the God who sees me.”

For us, Hagar’s encounter teaches that no one is truly invisible to God. We may feel forgotten, cast aside, or overlooked—but God is present. He sees our struggles, our tears, and our pain. And He responds with guidance, care, and promise.

When God shows up, we are seen. When God shows up, we are heard. When God shows up, even the wilderness becomes a place of encounter, hope, and life.

God sees you. Not for what you’ve done or failed to do—but for who you are, and the life He still wants to build through you.