Key verse:
“Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her: You are the God who sees me.”
Genesis 16:13
📖 Recommended reading
Genesis 16; 21:8–21 → Full account of Hagar: her escape, her encounter with the Angel of the Lord, the birth of Ishmael, and God’s provision in the wilderness.
This passage reveals how a foreign, enslaved, and rejected woman can be seen by God in the midst of abandonment. Hagar did not merely survive, she was sustained by the God who sees in the hidden places.
🌿 Introduction
Hagar was not part of the chosen people. She was Egyptian, Sarai’s servant, and was given to Abraham to conceive a child. Her story is marked by rejection, loneliness, and the wilderness. Yet in the midst of her escape, God found her. Her story is that of a woman who discovered that no human condition can prevent being seen by heaven.
👑 Her story
When Sarai could not have children, she gave Hagar to Abraham as a concubine. After becoming pregnant, Hagar was despised by Sarai and fled into the wilderness. There, the Angel of the Lord found her beside a spring of water and spoke to her with tenderness and purpose.
He told her she would have a son named Ishmael, for God had heard her affliction. Hagar responded with a unique revelation: “You are the God who sees me.” Later, when she was cast out with her son, God found them again in the wilderness and provided water and promise.
Hagar is the first person in the Bible to give God a name, and her story reveals that even in abandonment, there is divine purpose.
✨ What it teaches us
Hagar leaves us with deep lessons:
- God sees what others overlook: His gaze reaches the wilderness.
- Affliction is not invisible: God heard her cry.
- Provision comes at the right moment: She found water when all seemed lost.
- Identity is revealed in the encounter: She discovered who God is in the midst of pain.
💬 For reflection
Do you feel like you're in the wilderness, like Hagar? Do you believe your story is invisible? Are you ready to acknowledge that God sees you, even when no one else does?
Then, this message is for you.
Like Hagar, you may feel alone, rejected, or lost in the wilderness. But God sees you. He knows your story, hears your cry, and wants to meet you right where you are.
Today, you can respond in faith, just as she did, and say: “Lord, You are the God who sees me.”
He is with you. He wants to sustain you. He wants to give you life and purpose, even in the midst of pain.