{"id":2341,"date":"2017-10-25T15:35:16","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T15:35:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.wordpress.com\/?p=2341"},"modified":"2017-10-25T15:35:16","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T15:35:16","slug":"the-god-who-sees-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/?p=2341","title":{"rendered":"The God Who Sees Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Genesis 16 an Egyptian slave named Hagar is in a horrible and desperate situation. \u00a0It is so bad that she runs away, a choice that could easily be a death sentence. \u00a0Alone, out in the desert, \u00a0she encounters the Living God in such a significant way, she calls Him, “The God who sees me”<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If we are honest we all have times when we are compelled to ask: \u00a0where are you God? \u00a0Why did You let this happen? \u00a0 How can You\u00a0be good and stand by and do nothing? \u00a0Why didn’t You save him? \u00a0Protect her? \u00a0As a therapist, I come up against these questions constantly. \u00a0Injustice, abuse, isolation and\u00a0poverty\u00a0just don’t make sense if there really is a loving God sovereign over all things – until you begin to see things from His point of view. \u00a0Over the years, bit by bit, God has shown me, through His word, what He sees and what He’s doing. \u00a0Every time I get a new piece of understanding my heart is quieted, comforted even, and I am able to go on, trusting Him. \u00a0But then comes another story of suffering, abuse and heartache and I find myself having to ask for more insight into His seeming passivity at crucial times, times when any “loving god” would have surely shown up.<\/p>\n

One of the things that helps me when dealing with incomprehensible realities is to step back and try to take in all the factors going on at one time. \u00a0No one, ever (except for God), has the whole and complete point of view of the things that happen in this world. \u00a0We are always missing pieces of the puzzle of life that would make sense of the how and why. \u00a0But we can, with God’s help, see more. \u00a0And more helps.<\/p>\n

When you struggle to make peace with your life, try to walk around it and get a multitude of views. \u00a0Something like this:<\/p>\n

God sees you. \u00a0He sees you the individual. \u00a0You are His beloved child. \u00a0He sees how many hairs are on your head and how fast your heart beats. \u00a0He sees your sorrows and your joys. \u00a0He knows your longings and your fears. \u00a0He remembers what He made you for and knows how far along you are in the discovery.<\/p>\n

God sees your family. \u00a0He sees each member of your family and all the interactions you have. \u00a0The good ones and the destructive ones. \u00a0He has a vision for your family, one of unity and love. \u00a0He doesn\u2019t forget about each of you as individuals while he works on the whole.<\/p>\n

God sees your neighborhood. \u00a0He’s aware of the tone and mood of your street, whether it is fearful or friendly. \u00a0He knows how many elderly are shut in and alone and how many children wish they had a friend to play with. \u00a0He sees the crime, the weeds and the prejudices that infect where you live. \u00a0He cares about all these things. \u00a0He wants better for you and your neighbors.<\/p>\n

God sees your whole city, every business, school, restaurant and park. \u00a0He sees every overflowing trash can and flowering tree. \u00a0He sees potential. \u00a0He has hopes and dreams for a beautiful city where all the inhabitants are blessed and thriving.<\/p>\n

God sees all these details and cares about every one. \u00a0He sees that past, present and future at all times. \u00a0It is not hard for Him to keep it all in mind. \u00a0He is watching every storyline and weaving them all together to accomplish His plans for an amazing life for all His people. \u00a0He honors free will but also answers prayers. \u00a0His is in control at all times though we are not His puppets. \u00a0How can this be? \u00a0I don’t know, but thinking about all these proportions reminds me of how small I am. \u00a0Aware of my smallness, and the good I have seen Him do, I find surrender to and acceptance of His choices easier. \u00a0I once again can lean into, “He works all things for good … “<\/em> and find peace for my troubled soul.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Genesis 16 an Egyptian slave named Hagar is in a horrible and desperate situation. \u00a0It is so bad that she runs away, a choice that could easily be a death sentence. \u00a0Alone, out in the desert, \u00a0she encounters the Living God in such a significant way, she calls Him, “The God who sees me”. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2341\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deeperricherfuller.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}