The God Who Sees Me from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Hagar was Sarah's Egyptian maidservant, and when Sarah struggled to conceive, she offered Hagar to her husband Abram as a wife, hoping to have children through her. However, once Hagar became pregnant, the family dynamics changed. Sarah began to treat her "harshly", leading Hagar to flee. So we have a hurting, homeless, pregnant servant wandering alone in the wilderness. Eventually, she stopped by a spring of water, where the "Angel of the Lord" appeared to her—most likely the Lord Jesus Christ.

(Genesis 16:7-8 NKJV) 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, Sarai's maid, where have you come from, and where are you going?" She said, "I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai."

I find it interesting that the Lord went after the runaway servant instead of Abram. Apparently, she meant more to the Lord than to her husband. She didn't know His name, so she made one up: You are the God who sees me. That is so beautiful, and true...

(Genesis 16:13 NKJV) 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?"

When I was young in the Lord, I felt insignificant in His eyes. I had been beaten down by life pretty good by then, and often the clothes I wore and the cars I drove had as well. When I started going to church, I was often surrounded by people wearing suits and driving cars that I could never have afforded, even if they had been financed. I was just a common laborer. So I mostly stayed near the back of the church and listened to them talk about how great God was. I didn't know Him that well yet. But little did I know, a transformation was about to take place in my life.

I had no doubt that God knew who the Pastor and Elders were, and He heard their prayers. When I needed prayer, I would get them to pray for me, and it worked. They were great men of faith I looked up to, but I had come up as the least of the least.

My mom divorced nine times; my dad three, which gave me ten step-parents over the years. Everyone and everything was temporary. The longest stretch I experienced was as an unwanted stepchild in a dirt-poor family of thirteen kids, where I was the youngest. When you grow up being treated like trash, it's hard to shake off that mindset. I felt that I had very little to offer God, that He wasn't interested or involved in what was happening in my life. No one else was either, but inside me, there was a growing zeal for Jesus Christ.

While at work, I would listen to an audio Bible or any Bible teaching that I could get my hands on. One of the elders took a liking to me, and he brought me a five-gallon bucket filled with cassette tapes containing teachings by Derek Prince, Joyce Meyer, and many others. One that I came across was on the power of fasting, and it sparked something inside me. I set out on a two-week fast with only water. It was strange at first, and soon just hearing a praise song or a scripture would give me chills. Over the next year, I continued to pray and fast, usually for a week at a time.

Things began to change around me. One day, I was working as usual when I felt something like oil being poured over my head. I thought someone was pranking me, and I spun around to look, but there was no one there. From that day, I began to carry His anointing, and the words that I spoke began to be very timely, and they had power. Soon, it began to affect my workplace, and a revival broke out around me.

Sometimes, when I spoke about Jesus, people would begin to tremble and shake under conviction, and I would lead them to the Lord. When I went to church, I would sometimes fill my entire row with guests. The men in the nice suits began to notice that something was happening in my life, and soon they were asking me what I had heard from the Lord that week.

I said all of that to say this: God sees you! He does not show favoritism, and He is not impressed by the clothes we wear, or how much money we have in the bank. We often judge people purely by externals, their physical appearance, social status, position, wealth, or power, but those are not the markers that God looks for. He looks at the heart, and whether you are rich, poor, young, or old does not matter. We are all equally loved and valued in His eyes. One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11.

(Jeremiah 29:11-13 NKJV) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

This is a promise, and it works. God is not a respecter of persons, and if you will seek a relationship with Him above everything else, you will find Him. The Lord loves to take the least of the least and use them in power. The Apostles Jesus chose were "unlearned men" (Acts 4:13). The closest three Apostles who were always with Jesus were Peter, James, and John. They were simple fishermen. The Lord is the great equalizer, and He brings the lowly up and the haughty down.

Scripture makes this very clear: (Luke 20:21), (Deuteronomy 10:17), (Acts 10:34), (Romans 2:11), (Galatians 2:6), (Ephesians 6:9), (Colossians 3:25). What you see the Lord do for others, He will also do for you. You are not insignificant, and you matter to Him. He is the God who sees you, and He loves you. Jesus told us that even the hairs on our head are all numbered (Luke 12:7).

In 1st Samuel, God told the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem to the house of Jesse. He told him, "I have selected a king for myself among his sons." He didn't tell Samuel which son it would be, and Jesse had eight of them to choose from. They lined the seven oldest sons up, and Samuel looked them over. Eliab was the first, and he was tall and handsome. Samuel thought, surely the Lord's anointed is standing before me! Then the Lord told him this:

(1 Samuel 16:7 NASB) But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

So the one that Samuel would have chosen as king, the Lord rejected. Instead of Eliab, He chose Jesse's youngest son, David, who was not even in the lineup, but out tending his father's sheep. David was too insignificant even to be considered by men, but he was chosen by God.

Jesus was a people watcher. One day, Jesus sat near the temple treasury and watched as all the people put in their offerings, and He still does. Some who were wealthy came with large bags and put in a lot.

(Mark 12:41-44 NKJV) Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

The treasury where they placed their offerings consisted of thirteen brass treasure chests called trumpets because they were shaped like inverted horns, narrow at the top and enlarged at the bottom. This was during Passover, and the temple would have been crowded. When the wealthy poured a large bag of coins into the brass trumpets, there would be a loud crash, and there would be "oohs" and "ahs."

Then a poor widow came along and put in two mites, about a penny. Jesus said that she put more into the treasury than all the rest, because it was all that she could give. Think of this seemingly insignificant widow giving a tiny gift that no one would notice, yet receiving the greatest reward of them all. He is the God who sees you.

You are not insignificant to the Lord, and neither are your gifts. You are not too old, too young, too poor, too rich, you were not born the wrong gender, or the wrong color, or in the wrong place, or to the wrong parents. The Lord delights in you, and He created you to be who you are. So delight yourself in the Lord and watch Him give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). The Lord sees you, and He makes dreams come true.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I delight in You, and I want more of You in my life. There is nothing I want more than Your presence. Please come be a part of my life today and let me get to know You better. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.