Are you feeling unseen and wondering if God cares about you? Here are three scriptures to remind you that you are loved and seen by Almighty God.
We all have moments of doubt and wonder where God is during tough times. Sometimes, our struggles seem endless, and we ask, "God, where are you? Don’t you see what I’m facing?"
I can identify with almost all these emotions. I have had them at some point in my life. I was asking, Lord, what would you want me to say to your people? Several thoughts occurred to me, but this one stands out. Everyone sometimes questions God's care, concern, and love. We have been there. And although we have experiences of knowing that God has not abandoned us, yet when we find ourselves in that season again, we go right back to feeling all alone. We go right back to wondering, Am I doing this by myself?
Let me remind you of Hagar. Sarai gave Hagar to her husband, Abraham, because she could not bear a child, and they thought this was the way God’s promise would be fulfilled. They both looked at the timing of the promise and could not see when it would happen. Hagar became pregnant with Ishmael. Sarah wanted her to go because, in her eyes, Hagar despised her. And so, she put her aside, and they sent her away with bread and water.
Genesis 16:13 states, " that now the angel of the Lord found her, by a spring of water in the wilderness, by the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarah's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going? And she says, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai. And the angel of the Lord said to her, return to your mistress and submit yourself under her hand. And then when we jump down to verse thirteen, it says, then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, ' You are the God who sees. For she said, "Have I also seen Him who sees me?
God could never forget you. He might seem silent, and it might appear as if He does not care, but He does. In God's silence, in the time when it seems as if He is not speaking, lean into His presence. God is doing something within your life. So that you can know that even though it might appear as if He is missing, He is right there, the unseen hand.
The God who is always present amid our heartache and in our pain has not forgotten you. You may be saying, “But I am not a Hagar”. But are you at a place where you are experiencing the same feelings she was? You may be on your job, and you may feel unseen or treated in a way that causes you heartache, and you are asking, God, where are you in this? Do you see me, Lord? And He is saying, " Yes, I see you. Yes, I see you.
Jeremiah chapter 31:3. "The Lord has appeared old to me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness, I have drawn you.
Can you imagine that? When we feel unloved by our children, by our friends, by our spouses, and even when we do not love ourselves. Our Heavenly Father is saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, a love that will not change. Even when you do not choose me, I still love you with an everlasting love. And I have drawn you with that love. What a precious promise we can hold on to.
That same God who we think has forgotten us loved and saw you even before you were formed in your mother's womb. And even when we breathe our last breath, my friend. God loves you. God loves me. God loves us. So, when we feel forsaken, when we feel as if he has not seen us or abandoned us, know that He has not. He can't forget you. It does not matter. Even when we have walked away from him, He loves us and is just waiting for us to return to his warm embrace. That is the kind of Father that we serve today. So, if you feel that He does not see you, Genesis 16:13 reminds us that God sees.
And if He sees, He is concerned about where you are. If He sees, He is aware of your heartache, your pain, and suffering. And if He sees, that means nothing has taken Him by surprise.
Jeremiah chapter 31:3 reminds us that from everlasting to everlasting, God loves you, and nothing can separate you from that love. Absolutely nothing. It is only you who can separate yourself, but God's love will not change; it will not be taken from you. You would have to withdraw yourself from that love.
Ephesians 3: 17-19. It says, "That Christ may dwell in your heart through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height, to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God".
That is a promise, my friend, that God has made to you, that God has made to me, that God has made to us. Can you imagine? It is impossible to conceive the height, the depth, the width, the breadth of the love that God has for you and me.
So where are you today? Are you feeling downcast, heartbroken, dismayed, despondent, and disappointed? Can I encourage you today to hold on to Almighty God? He has not forsaken you; He has not despised you. It may seem as if He is not there, but He is there walking alongside you. He is holding your hand, He is drying your tears, He is healing your heart, and He is restoring you. That is the God who loves you with an everlasting love.
God is saying it is hard for you to comprehend this love that I have for you, but do not allow the enemy to come in and to disturb and to distort my love for you, to make you think that because you do not see me, that I do not care, and I do not see you. I see you. In the same way in which I saw Hagar, I see you. In the same way I have drawn my children, I have drawn you.
Hold tight, trust me with your heart, and do not lean to your own understanding in all your ways to acknowledge me, and I will direct your path. That is the God we serve, my sister, my friend. He is a God of love and compassion, and nothing that you are going through today has taken Him off guard. He sees you, He loves you, He has drawn you closer to him. His love is so wide you cannot get around it. It is so deep you cannot get under it. It is so high you cannot get over it. That is the kind of father you serve, and that is the kind of father who loves you.
Let us pray, " Heavenly Father, thank you for seeing us. Thank you for knowing what she is feeling, Almighty God. And your word says you are touched with the feelings of our infirmity. And so, I lift my friend before you today. Minister to her where she needs you most. Show up for her, Almighty God. In her stillness, remind her that you are there, Father. Lord, when she feels alone, reveal yourself to her, Almighty God. Thank you. May these scriptures come alive in your heart.
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