Unseen

Have you ever felt as if you were invisible to the human eye? Have you ever felt 100% present, but somehow, those that are closes to you JUST DON’T SEEM TO NOTICE YOUR PRESENCE? You show up, attempting to help and serve where you feel called and led, but for some reason, your sacrifices, efforts and attempts come up void. You don’t receive a, “THANK YOU”. You are not encouraged with a, “JOB WELL DONE”. The olive branch goes un-extended, neglecting you from a, “WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?”. You wonder if it’s even worth it. You consider just stepping back, out of sight, where your ego won’t have to undergo the embarrassment, and your heart can be shielded from the rejection. In the past, you convinced yourself that doing the work of the Lord, in your home, church, place of employment, school and/or, in your community, was top priority in your life………A GOD ORDAINED CALLING. But now, you just feel empty, depleted, used, and invisible to anyone that could ever truly care to see your worth. You feel UNSEEN.

Hagar was an Egyptian slave, a concubine to Abraham. Due to the fact that Sarah was mature in her age, past the obvious years of childbearing, she grew impatient, and ordered for her husband, Abraham, to lay with Hagar, in hopes to bring forth a child. Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn Son, was born from this union. Sarah, who was the sole initiator of this union, and was eventually blessed with a son of her own, became jealous, and wanted nothing more, than for Hagar to disappear. Upon her request, Hagar was sent away, only to find herself and her child, alone, confused, betrayed, crying out, and lost in the wilderness. However, God appeared to Hagar, granting her a promise that will forever be engraved into history. Because God heard Hagar’s cries, she showed her gratitude by becoming the only person recorded in the Bible, to give God a name, EL ROI………..THE GOD WHO SEES ME.

I can only imagine the challenges that women faced during this time of history, serving as

a concubine, where their sole purpose is be sexually available and to hear chMildred, being treated as a second or third class citizen in their own community. I can perfectly understand why God revealing Himself to Hagar, acknowledging her cries, allowed for her to FINALLY feel SEEN. I am sure that she spent most, if not all of her life, feeling UNSEEN. GOD SAW HER. GOD HEARD HER. GOD LOVED HER. She was not just a handmaiden….concubine……useless woman in God’s eyes; Hagar was beautifully and wonderfully created in God’s image, so she was SEEN as His masterpiece……….HIS DAUGHTER.

GOD SEES YOU. GOD HEARS YOU. GOD LOVES YOU. Your efforts may go unnoticed by people, BUT GOD notices your efforts. It may feel as if you are invisible and unappreciated, BUT GOD appreciates your obedience. I want to encourage you to stay so connected to God’s love, that everything that you do, is solely for His eyes, and not so much for the eyes of the world. It’s a great feeling when those around us, encourages us, uplifts up, appreciates us, but the Word promises that PEOPLE WILL FAIL US, BUT GOD WILL NEVER FAIL US. You keep being the beautiful, driven, obedient person that you are, because GOD SEES YOU!

“You are the God who sees me…I have now seen the One who sees me.” Genesis 16:13

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Reflective Questions

1. When you stand in the mirror and see your reflection starring back at you, who do you see (character traits)?

2. On a level of 1 to 10, 1 being the least and 10 being the greatest, how would you rate your desire to please people and to be seen?

3. How does knowing that God sees YOU, make you truly feel?