God Sees Us: Hope in Our Wilderness

In Genesis 16, the story of Hagar, Sarah, and Abram unfolds as a powerful reminder of God’s faithfulness and His intimate awareness of our struggles. Sarah, unable to bear children, attempts to “help God out” by giving her slave Hagar to Abram, hoping to build a family through her. This decision, rooted in impatience and human reasoning, leads to conflict, pain, and broken relationships. Hagar, though elevated in status by her pregnancy, finds herself despised and mistreated by Sarah, ultimately fleeing into the wilderness. Yet, it is in this place of isolation and suffering that God meets Hagar personally.

God’s encounter with Hagar is striking. He calls her by name, acknowledges her pain, and gives her a promise for her future and her son, Ishmael. The Lord does not ignore her misery; instead, He sees her, hears her, and assures her that her life and her child’s life matter. Hagar, a marginalized Egyptian slave, becomes the first person in Scripture to give God a name: El Roi, “the God who sees me.” This is a profound revelation—not only does God see the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel, but He also sees the overlooked, the outcast, and the suffering.

The story challenges us to examine our own tendencies to take matters into our own hands when God’s promises seem delayed. Like Sarah and Abram, we may try to “help God” or manipulate circumstances, only to find ourselves in greater turmoil. Yet, even in our mistakes and the messiness of human relationships, God’s grace pursues us. He meets us in our wilderness moments, not with condemnation, but with compassion and purpose.

God’s faithfulness is not limited by our status, our failures, or our circumstances. He sees each of us—our pain, our waiting, our faithfulness, and even our silent suffering. The call is to remain faithful, trusting that God’s timing is perfect and that He is working, even when we cannot see it. Just as God made a way for Hagar, He will make a way for us, reminding us that being seen by God is the foundation of our hope and endurance.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Human nature often leads us to try to “help God out” when His promises seem slow in coming. This impulse, though understandable, can create more pain and confusion, as seen in Sarah’s plan with Hagar. True faith requires waiting on God’s timing, even when it stretches beyond our understanding or comfort. [21:00]
• 2. God’s compassion is not reserved for the powerful or the prominent; He pursues and cares for those who are marginalized and suffering. Hagar’s encounter in the wilderness reveals that God sees and values every individual, regardless of their social status or background. This challenges us to trust that God’s attention is not limited to the “important” people, but extends to all who are hurting. [32:07]
• 3. The wilderness is often the place where God meets us most intimately. Hagar’s flight from mistreatment led her to a lonely place, but it was there that God spoke to her, called her by name, and gave her hope. Our own seasons of isolation or hardship can become sacred spaces where God’s presence and promises are made real to us. [38:37]
• 4. God’s instructions may sometimes call us to endure difficult circumstances rather than escape them. Hagar was told to return and submit, a hard and counterintuitive command. Yet, God’s guidance is always accompanied by His presence and a promise for our future, reminding us that obedience, even in hardship, is not in vain. [33:30]
• 5. Being seen by God is transformative. Hagar’s declaration, “You are the God who sees me,” is a testimony to the dignity and hope that comes from knowing we are not invisible to God. No matter what we are facing or how hidden our pain may feel, God’s attentive love assures us that we matter and that He will make a way for us. [39:16]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [13:04] - Introduction to Genesis 16
• [13:43] - Sarah’s Plan and Hagar’s Role
• [15:07] - Hagar’s Flight and God’s Pursuit
• [17:09] - Prayer for Understanding
• [17:50] - The Covenant and Human Nature
• [21:00] - Trying to Help God
• [24:19] - Ten Years of Waiting
• [26:56] - The Fallout: Conflict and Blame
• [30:09] - Hagar’s Desperation and Escape
• [32:07] - God Meets Hagar in the Wilderness
• [34:08] - God’s Promise to Hagar
• [36:02] - Ishmael’s Destiny Explained
• [37:17] - Hagar Names God: El Roi
• [41:57] - God’s Care for the Outsider
• [44:46] - Faithfulness in the Waiting
• [45:32] - Closing Prayer

Bible Reading

Genesis 16:1-16 (ESV) — Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had a female Egyptian servant whose name was Hagar. And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold now, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children. Go in to my servant; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. So, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar the Egyptian, her servant, and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife. And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress. And Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be on you! I gave my servant to your embrace, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked on me with contempt. May the Lord judge between you and me!” But Abram said to Sarai, “Behold, your servant is in your power; do to her as you please.” Then Sarai dealt harshly with her, and she fled from her.

The angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur. And he said, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” She said, “I am fleeing from my mistress Sarai.” The angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress and submit to her.” The angel of the Lord also said to her, “I will surely multiply your offspring so that they cannot be numbered for multitude.” And the angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant and shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has listened to your affliction. He shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand against everyone and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen.” So she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing,” for she said, “Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.” Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it lies between Kadesh and Bered. And Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram called the name of his son, whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

Observation Questions

1. What was Sarai’s plan to “help God out” with His promise, and how did Abram respond?
2. After Hagar became pregnant, how did her relationship with Sarai change, and what was the result?
3. Where did the angel of the Lord find Hagar, and what did he call her by?
4. What promise did God give to Hagar about her son, and what name did Hagar give to God after this encounter?

Interpretation Questions

1. Why do you think Sarai and Abram felt the need to take matters into their own hands instead of waiting on God’s promise? What does this reveal about human nature and faith?
2. Hagar was an Egyptian slave, not part of God’s chosen people. What does God’s pursuit of Hagar in the wilderness say about who God sees and values?
3. The angel told Hagar to return and submit to Sarai, even after mistreatment. What might this teach us about God’s guidance and the role of obedience in hard situations?
4. Hagar called God “El Roi,” the God who sees me. Why is it significant that Hagar, an outsider, is the first person in Scripture to give God a name?

Application Questions

1. Can you think of a time when you tried to “help God out” because you felt His promises were taking too long? What was the result, and what did you learn from that experience?
2. Are there areas in your life right now where you feel overlooked, invisible, or like an outsider? How does knowing that God sees you—just as He saw Hagar—change the way you view your situation?
3. Hagar met God in the wilderness, a place of isolation and pain. Have you ever experienced God’s presence most clearly during a difficult or lonely season? What happened, and how did it shape your faith?
4. God’s instructions to Hagar were not easy—He told her to return and submit. Is there a hard situation in your life where you sense God calling you to stay faithful rather than escape? What would it look like to trust Him in that?
5. Hagar’s story shows that God’s compassion is not limited by status, background, or past mistakes. How can you reflect God’s heart for the overlooked or hurting people in your own community this week?
6. The sermon mentioned that being seen by God is the foundation of our hope and endurance. What practical steps can you take to remind yourself daily that God sees and cares for you, especially when you feel discouraged?
7. The pastor shared about waiting for God’s promise for the church and feeling discouraged by slow progress. Is there a promise or hope you are waiting on from God? How can you stay faithful and hopeful in the waiting?