The God Who Sees

[Hagar] named the Lord who spoke to her, “You are El-roi”; for she said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” – Genesis 16:13 (NRSV) 

Hagar’s story is rough. 

Enslaved to Abraham and Sarah, Hagar is used, mistreated, and cast out into the wilderness with her child. 

When Hagar runs out of water, she places her child at a distance because she cannot bear to watch him die. Then God shows up, provides water … and sends Hagar back to her abusers. 

That is hard to square. A God who sees but does not immediately fix everything, starting with the dehumanizing realities of patriarchy? A God who gives water but not justice? Hard pass. 

No one should use this story to tell the vulnerable to return to danger. This story does not ask us to bless suffering as God’s plan. It reveals where God is located when suffering happens. Tellingly, not with the abusers. 

Hagar’s story suggests that salvation is the experience of being seen even within horrific circumstances. Better yet, it is seeing God seeing us. 

Jesus reveals the same God: the one who sees the woman accused of adultery, the sick, the shamed, the cast aside. Love that refuses to look away. 

Our work, then, is clear: distance ourselves from anything that normalizes abuse and draw closer to those who suffer. Bring water. Believe survivors. Refuse easy explanations.  

Stand where God stands: with the ones the world would rather not see. 

Prayer
God Who Sees, help us refuse everything that looks away from harm and become people of compassion and courage.

About the Author
Matt Laney is Co-Pastor of Virginia Highland Church UCC in Atlanta, GA, and the author of Pride Wars, a fantasy series for young readers. You can find original children’s stories by Rev. Laney on his YouTube channel, LaneyLit.