Confident Faith In El Roi

Scripture Focus

The God Who Sees Me

Genesis 16:1-14

“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: ‘You are the God who sees me,’ for she said, ‘I have now seen the One who sees me.’” (Gen. 16:13).

Introduction

In a world of brokenness and busyness it can seem almost effortless to feel unseen, especially when those times are filled with unfair judgement, hardships, and agony. We all have experienced moments of running and hiding from the world whether physically or emotionally during difficult stretches of life. We even start to believe that God has left us to fend for ourselves. We can learn through the story of Hagar, that not only does God see our pain and our struggle, but He also wants to fight for us and give us hope in the middle of the pain.

Room Set Up

Arrange the tables in the room into small groupings of no more than four at a table. This will help to cultivate participation during small group discussion time.

On the Table

The link below is for an “El Roi” coloring sheet, that can be purchased from Etsy. This can be done by the women as they are waiting for the program to begin.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1385099558/16-names-of-god-bonus-el-roi-coloring?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=El+Roi+zentangle+sheet&ref=sr_gallery-1-2&dd=1&search_preloaded_img=1&organic_search_click=1

Program

Call to worship through song:

The God Who Sees by Doxa Church

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uKmOTOjhDo

Or The God Who Sees by Nicole Mullen.

https://youtu.be/sz81dIfwf4Y?si=o1BdANHBgxM8-BFn

Small Group Discussion

Ask the following questions, that will create discussion for each table. Allow around 3–5 minutes per question before moving on to the next.

1. Have you ever got tired of waiting for something that was promised to you?
2. What have you found yourself doing in those moments of relentless waiting?

Waiting

Oh, the waiting place…How many of us resent the space this time occupies in our lives. Our culture has ruined us from finding comfort in waiting. Fast speed internet, fast food, 15-minute oil changes, fast passes at theme parks, 5-minute rice. You can even go online and reserve your spot at the urgent care now, so you don’t have to arrive until your appointed time. We are being reprogrammed to hate the waiting and love the line skipping.

We do not wait well. And yet, all of us are waiting for something. It’s inevitable, it’s a part of life that we would love to fast forward through, and yet, there is so much good that can come through the waiting. But Sarai was not willing to wait for the “good” that God had promised her and Abram, that their descendants would be many and that she would be the “mother of nations” (Genesis 17:6).

In her impatience, she decided to take matters into her own hands, which is where we find our focus today. We read in Genesis 16:1-4 “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so, she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So, after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.

Hagar has no choice but to conceive Abram’s child. She becomes pregnant which is what Sarai desired. But she wasn’t prepared for the feelings that Hagar might have because of it. She wasn’t concerned for Hagar at all.

Scripture tells us that when Hagar knew she was pregnant, she despises Sarai (Genesis 16:4), and because of this, Sarai becomes angry and deals with her harshly (Genesis 16:6).

Hagar had two options in her mind. She can stay and be mistreated, or she could run. So, she chose to run. But in that running, in the middle of literal nowhere, she comes face to face with God.

The Lord himself, in the form of an angel, came and asked her, “Where have you come from and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:7-8). When she told him, His response was to go back and submit to Sarai. That sounds kind of harsh, that God would send her back to her pain and injustice. But through going back, God gave her a promise. He would give her descendants so numerous that she couldn’t count them (Gen. 16:9). She would not only give birth to her son Ishmael, but she would live to see a future that is blessed and filled with hope.

For this first time in her life, she feels seen, and she feels heard, and her relationship with God creates for her a new identity and a new future. In this encounter, she gives Him a name. She is the only person in the Bible that does this. “She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” (Genesis 16:13).

God sees us in our suffering, He sees our struggles, He see us in our hurt and pain. He is El Roi, the God who sees. There will always be times, this side of heaven, that we will find ourselves sitting in the brokenness of life. But just as Hagar found hope and new life in God through the broken and the waiting, it gives us the hope that we can do the same thing too. We can have confident faith in El Roi because His promises are forever.

Closing Song By: Sorensen -The God Who Sees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRlgJa8rmgI

Prayer: God, it is hard to sit in brokenness, it is hard to see hope when we are stuck in the middle of pain, injustice, and fear. But you are the God of hope. You are our El Roi and you see us. Through it all, may we find peace, clarity, and purpose that far exceeds the momentary brokenness that we are feeling right now. We give it all to You and have complete faith that You will see us through. Amen.