Readings for today: Genesis 14-16
It is both comforting and convicting to know we’ve caught God’s attention. He is faithful. Eternally so. His eyes never leave us. He never forsakes us. He is with us when we wake. He is with us when we sleep. He is with us at work, at school, at home. There is never a moment that escapes His glance. Never a time when our thoughts or actions are hidden from His sight.
This is incredibly encouraging when we are suffering like Hagar. A woman who gets caught up in a power struggle between her master and mistress. A woman who’s marginalized. Mistreated. Abused. She runs into the wilderness, fearing for her life. She doesn’t know where she is going only that she cannot remain in Sarai’s household. She is pregnant. Alone. Afraid. But God is with her. He sees her. He meets her along the way. Meets her in the wilderness. Meets her in her desperation. And He gives her a promise. Her son will grow strong and powerful. He will eventually break free from the bonds of slavery. God will bless him.
The reminder above is incredibly convicting when we are engaged in sin like Sarai. A woman struggling with her own fears and failures and shame. She lashes out. She mistreats Hagar though she was the one who put her in this position in the first place. She lashes out at her husband who had agreed to the plan. She even laughs at God when He suggests she will bear a son within a year.
The same God who sees our pain is the same God who sees our sin and thankfully, He meets both with grace. Perhaps you find yourself in pain today. You are suffering. Struggling. The new year has not gotten off to a great start. You feel accused. You feel mistreated. Everything in you wants to run. Get away from it all. Take comfort in the fact that God sees what you are going through and He will look after you as surely as He looked after Hagar. Perhaps you find yourself locked in sin. Thoughts, attitudes, and actions you know do not line up with God’s Word. You’ve been battling these demons for years or maybe you’ve simply been content to live in sin. Be warned! God will not be mocked! And He sees everything you do. What you believe to be hidden. What you believe to be secret. The work you’ve done to fool everyone around you is not unknown to God. He sees it all and He is actively at work to bring you to repentance.
Grace is truly a double-edged sword. It hits us where it hurts and it brings both comfort and conviction. Will you receive the grace of God today? Will you turn and meet the gaze of the “God who sees?” The God who is faithful to look after us in our sin and in our suffering?
Readings for tomorrow: Genesis 17-19