El Roi

I am so thankful that I have gotten to go through the names of God with my fifth graders. I'm so grateful that I have gotten to learn alongside them as the Lord brings to light truths about Himself. And now when I am struggling I know more of who my Lord is. Today I am reminded of the name El Roi, the God who sees. This comes from the story of Hagar and Ishmael in the wilderness. She runs from Sarai but the angel of the Lord tells her to go back and submit for she is with child. Hagar then says "you are the God who sees me". I was just thinking on this today. The Lord sees us. And not just in the overly omnipotent, soverign way of physically seeing us, but He sees us in ways that we can't even see ourselves. He sees our sin in its fullness and yet He loves us. Even today as I am really struggling, He sees me. He knows my struggles. He knows that I am fighting to be content in Him, in my singleness. He knows the deepest desires of my heart. He even sees the struggles within myself that I am not even aware of yet. He knows them before they come. In some aspect this could seem frightening but its not because this is the God that has saved me, and has called me His own. Therefore I am so comforted. The God who calls me His own is watching over me. He is guiding me and protecting me. He will provide (Jehovah Jireh) me with the strenght that I need today and will give me joy in Him! And so, even in a time when the darkness doesnt seem to want to lift, I can lift my eyes up to my God! He is so good!