Genesis 16:13-14:

13 Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees; for she said, “Have I also here seen Him who sees me?” 14 Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; observe, it is between Kadesh and Bered.

Question: What does it mean to me that God sees me?

Six aspects of being seen by God

1. I am truly seen by God

Jeremiah 23:24, ‘Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.’

God is everywhere and sees everything, I cannot hide anything from him.

1 Samuel 16:7, “the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

God sees what no one else can, He knows the best and worst of my thoughts and intentions, my hopes and my fears, even my deepest longings that I scarcely know.

2. I am never alone

Psalm 139:7, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?”

I believe hermits tend to go insane through being alone. But the early Desert Fathers of Egypt were hermits or monastics who lived a life of inner stillness in the presence of God, and have left a sane collection of Christian thought and sayings.

Even in a crowd we can be alone. In 1969 I was working for a housepainter who had come from Britain, and when we heard the song ‘Streets of London’*, I asked how someone could be lonely with millions of people around, but he explained that London was the loneliest place he had ever seen.

3. I am truly known

In my opinion, to be truly known is one of our basic needs, otherwise we feel misunderstood and alienated from our community.
We have social expectations placed on us from early years, and are persuaded to pretend in order to be acceptable. At one time in my early years of work my then-boss counselled me that my face was too honest, it gave away too much, and he suggested joining a drama group to learn to put on an act. I was glad to move away from that department.

4. I am called to see and confess who I truly am

As fallen mankind, we are masters of self-delusion, we build myths about ourselves and our society, and we claim God’s blessings as our own achievements.
But when God draws us close to Him, and reveals enough of His vision that we can bear, He tears away those personal and social myths to show us who we truly are before Him.

And as He calls us to be honest to Him, that leads us to humility and confession of our sinful nature, and we recognise our complete dependence upon Him for all our needs.
And it also frees us from the burden of pretence and lies, of feeding and maintaining those false illusions about ourselves.

5. I am truly loved

So much of the love we receive in this world is highly conditional, and it is withdrawn if people’s expectations are not fulfilled. I saw many couples I had known in my 20’s break up in later years, when the rose-coloured glasses of youth were removed.

In Romans 5:8 we read, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Even while God saw the worst of us, the full extent of our sin, He still loved us with an infinite and unconditional love we can never fathom, and sent His son Jesus to die for us, that we might be saved and reconciled to Him. Verse 10 puts it even stronger, that we were enemies of God who were reconciled through the death of Jesus.

Only as I clearly see who I am, as God sees me, do I begin to understand the depth of His love for me.

6. I am given His strength and wisdom

When our sense of identity as a person or a community is built on myths and lies, our illusions are easily torn down in a crisis, and we feel lost.
But by ending my self-delusion, God enables me to see, to plan and act on what is real instead of imaginary. He shows me how to build on a solid foundation, by relying on His care and provision.

As we learn in Acts 17:27-28, “He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being.”

And our ultimate being has been given through His goodness and grace in Jesus.

Thanks be to God!

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[*] “Streets of London” chorus:

So, how can you tell me you’re lonely?
And say for you that the sun don’t shine?
Let me take you by the hand
And lead you through the streets of London
[I’ll] Show you something to make you change your mind

Link to song: Streets of London