-The God Who cares about us
"And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the Lord hath heard thy affliction." (v. 11)
No matter what the affliction may be, God cares about you. He hears the sigh of a weary mother. He sees the tears shed on a midnight pillow. His heart aches with the painful burden you carry, even when nobody else notices.
As the psalmist wrote, “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.” (Psalm 22:24)
Even better, God told her to name the baby Ishmael, meaning “God will hear.” God heard Hagar’s cry of affliction, cared about her, and poured out His grace on her life.
If you’re going through affliction right now, remember that God cares about you. “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” (Psalm 30:5)
-The God Who sees us
"And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto her, Thou God seest me: for she said, Have I also here looked after him that seeth me?" (v. 13)
Overwhelmed by God’s goodness to her, Hagar called Him, “Thou God seest me.” For the rest of her life, she would remember how God had looked on her affliction, met her in the wilderness, and showered her with His love. She would tell it to her children and grandchildren, so that they, too, would learn to reverence the God Who sees.
Somehow, Hagar knew that she was not talking to a mere angel. She had the unspeakable privilege of talking face-to-face with the most High God. (Some could even argue that this was a theophany—a pre-Incarnate appearance of Christ. After all, one of His Names is “Counsellor.”)
She marvelled that, though she had not been seeking God, He was seeking her. “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10) Today, Jesus is still seeking sinners. He sees them in their desperate need, and He desires that all would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)
Yet He also sees you and I, dear Christian. He sees us in our weakest moments and our greatest triumphs. He sees us when we kneel to pray and when we cannot find words. He sees our tears, our laughter, and our fears. And he cares oh so deeply about us.
Believer, why don’t you take a moment to thank God for His great goodness to us? Why don’t you stop where you are and take a knee? Because He deserves more praise than we could ever give. I’m so glad that I know the one true God…the God Who sees.