Who is God to you? This question and prompted me to look at my relationship with God.  In Genesis 16, the Bible tells the story of Hagar.  In her story we see that she is a servant to Sarai, Abram’s wife.  After finding our she was pregnant with Abram’s child, she ran away.  While in the wilderness, the Bible says, “the angel of the Lord FOUND Hagar” (Genesis 16:7 NLT). He met with her and comforted her.  He gave her instruction on what to do next.

This story has never really struck me as anything special until a few days ago. As I was reading, I felt God draw me to certain points in Hagar’s story.  When she ran away we see that the angel of the Lord found her.  What I love about this is that he was looking for her.  In a time of distress, God was seeking Hagar.  The best part about this is that God seeks for us as well.  God wants to walk beside us in every moment of our lives.  In our distress and in our joy.  He is looking to be with us, His beloved ones but we need to make ourselves available to Him.  Hagar was found at a spring of water where she was probably stopping to rest and drink.  In our lives we often forget to do the same.  When chaos arises we tend to panic and forget to stop and receive from the Lord.  It’s in the rest that we can hear clearly and it’s in the refreshment of God’s word that we can find answers.  It’s in this way we can make ourselves available to be found by the Lord.

It’s after this encounter Hagar sees God in a new way.  Verse 16 says, “Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord” (NLT). It tells us from that moment on, she referred to the Lord as “El-roi” which means “You are the God who sees me”. It was this encounter that I believe changed the way Hagar saw God.  He was no longer just the God of her master’s husband.  Her relationship was more intimate than that.  To her, He was the God who came to her in a time of need.  Her saw her, a servant girl, and gave her comfort in her sorrow.  He sought out to find her, to show her just how much he loved and cared for her.  From that one encounter He was the God who saw her when no one else did.

Who is God to you?  God wants to have a deeper relationship with you.  His desire is to be more than a God in a book.  He wants to meet with you right where you are at.  He wants to have a lifelong encounter with you.  He wants to redefine how you see Him and how you see yourself.  You are worthy, set apart and loved.  Allow God to find you. I encourage you today to find some time to rest in his presence.  Read His word and allow Him to reveal his unconditional love for you.  God sees you right here, right now.  Let yourself be found by Him.

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” – Genesis 16:13 (NLT)