Let’s face it. People let us down. They disappoint us. And so does God. Often our experiences fall short of our expectations for God to meet all our needs the way we think He should, and like a lover who has been wronged, we tend to guard our hearts against future disappointment by lowering our expectations and trust. But make no mistake about it, God sees. God understands. Click & Tweet! He is not aloof.
One day I was sitting on the patio with my friend Beth and her stepfather, Sam, waiting for the grill to heat up before placing steaks on to cook. Beth’s mom opened the door and gave Sam his orders—telling him what to do and how to do it. When she went back inside, Sam made a hand signal, pointing in one ear and out the other. We all three laughed. Then he placed his ruddy hand on Beth’s arm, a hand worn by years of working under the hood of cars of every make and model.
“She was pretty hard on you growing up, wasn’t she?” he asked.
“You have no idea,” Beth answered with a sigh.
But Sam did have an idea. He understood. And that one simple gesture let her know that he had peered into her heart and had seen the truth. The weathered, uneducated country mechanic had looked under the hood of her heart with wisdom and seen the damaged engine within. A heart, though healed by Christ, that still felt the phantom pains of a little girl who felt she was never good enough, who was constantly told what to do and how to do it—and who never did it quite right. Sam saw her heart, and for that, Beth loved him. And so did I.
How like God. He places His hand on your shoulders looks into your eyes, and lets you know that He understands. “I see you,” He says. “I see what you are going through.” Like Hagar who experienced a sudden glory moment with God in the desert; we too can know God as El Roi, “the God who sees me,” Click & Tweet! (Genesis 16:13).
The book of Hebrews tells us that we have a High Priest, Jesus, who understands what we are going through. He “sympathizes” with our weakness (Hebrews 4:15). The word “sympathizes” comes from two Greek words, smy and pathos, meaning, “suffer with.” We are not alone in our suffering and there are glory moments to be found in the dark if we will keep our eyes open to see.
God did not write the story of your life and then sit back to watch it play out. He is in the story with you. Click & Tweet! As a matter of fact, He has the leading role. Oh, we try to butt in and take the spotlight. We try to push Him out of the way and take over the lead. But when we get to heaven and look at the playbill, we will see that God had the leading role all along and our names were there in supporting roles as a display of His glory.
Lord, I am so thankful that I have a High Priest, Jesus, who sees me, who prays for me, and who understands exactly what I’m going through. Help me to rest in the assurance that I am not alone, but in Your capable hands. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
How does it make you feel to know that God sees you? Please leave a comment and let’s share. I’ll go first: It makes me feel known.
If this devotion touched your heart, chances are you’ve got some hurt in your life. So let’s don’t waste our sorrows! What are you doing with the hurt? Using it for good? Picking at the scab and not letting it heal? Tough questions. If you’re ready to heal and use what you’ve gone through for good, then see my book, Your Scars are Beautiful to God: Finding Peace and Purpose in the Hurts of Your Past. It’s time to turn that pain into purpose!
And for you married gals, if apathy and indifference have crept into your marriage and you don’t know what to do about it, check out my book Lovestruck and get out of that funk! It also has a companion study guide!
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It makes me feel comforted!
Thank you for this posting. I needed to read this. It made me feel understood. The hurts run very deep and even though I’ve moved on, they still hurt a lot at times. God bless you.
I know how your friend, Beth, feels. I also grew up in a home where I felt I was never good enough and could not do anything right. That drove me to believe the lie I had to perform perfectly in everything to be accepted and loved. But God! Thankfully, in my mind twenties, walked into a church where grace and salvation were being preached from the pulpit and found the love and acceptance for which I had always longed. Thank you for sharing this devotional today. God bless.
Thank you for this devotion today. I did have a lot of things happen to me in the past. My husband and I are going through financial problems and need your help. He is trying to find a job that would make him happier and use your skills to better support our needs. I definitely will order this book. God bless you!
I am thankful God provides comfort and peace. He sees my disappointments and gives me hope.
Love this – needed it. Thank you for your words, for allowing God to use you as a vessel to touch others’ lives.
Your article today brought tears to my eyes. God is so good to us even when we don’t deserve it.
I was in pieces after reading this. Brokenness in every sense has been in my life for 5 years along with dealing with cancer, a broken home in the midst of cancer and now dealing with divorce. The pain is so much however if it were not for the word and commune for our lord daily I would have caved in. Thank you for your devo you shared today. I know that He is walking this journey with me. I want my husband not to inflict this pain an our kids and I and to walk in obedience to the word of God not his. I never wanted or ever expected that our covenant made he would break it and still appear to the world as he does. I know God sees thru it all. I need prayer, I’ve been rejected by many without realizing that it had to do with my husband influence . I know the enemy wants me to break, my health has deteriorated even more. I need my miracle from the awesome god we serve and his leading.
I LOOOOOOOVE that I’m no surprise to God, as Haggar wasn’t. God KNOWS me, knew EXACTLY what He was getting with me. He doesn’t call the equipped. He equips The Called. But His grace…. THAT is what HEALED me, heart, mind body, soul, AND inner man, from ALL the ” Ishmael’s I’d made/created in my life because ALL things work together for those of us who love the LORD!!! GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS! GREAT IS THY MERCY AND LOVINGKINDNESS TOWARDS ME, US!!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!
Reading your story reminded me of my mother. She would tell me how to do it then tell me what would happen if I didn’t. I don’t know how many times i tried i just could not please her. She wanted one of her girls to go into nursing. My sister couldn’t stand the site of blood when mother had her surgery. So guess who she wanted to become a nurse. All the three years of nursing school she would tell me to study so I wouldn’t fail. She didn’t know how close I came that first year. I faced my lack of confidence and put my faith in what God was showing me. How much I loved nursing and how rewarding it was that I was able to improve my grades and graduate. So many things mother would say were negative, but nursing and God gave me the confidence to become a nurse. I think mother was so proud of me and I was proud of what I had accomplished. Yes I had finally changed my feelings. Mother still tells me what to do and how to do it, but only after she died did I know how much I missed all those things she told me. Sometimes I think I can still hear her voice when I do something she would tell me not to do or this will happen.
It makes me feel secure.
It makes me feel loved!
It makes me feel like he is protecting me from things that are not right for me. What I long for may not be what he wants for me to worry about.
Five years ago today my Dad passed away but before he did he let me know he had seen my heart and knew all the pain my Mom inflicted upon me throughout my life. He loved her dearly but he also loved me. He apologized for not being more present in my children’s lives due to her controlling ways. I continue to forgive her each time she insults and wounds me and I still haven’t given up hope that God will set her free from her bitterness and forgiveness. I asked God to comfort me today as I miss my Dad so much, no coincidence reading your blog today, thank you. Sometimes just knowing someone else has gone through something similar is a great comfort. Jesus is my forever Abba and knowing that brings peace to my soul.
It makes me feel so loved and safe. Even when I am having bad days I am able to talk with him . He brings me peace !
Sharon, thank you for that word “known” because it makes me feel that way, too.
It makes me feel “Fly”: recognized, a part of the important things that are going on; a part of the “in-crowd”-God’s Crowd!
It reassures me that because of Jesus’ love and sacrifice, I really am good enough. I am loved!!!
And it reminds me that I need to share that with others who need to feel “fly”, too!!!
Knowing God sees me makes me feel extra special and loved dearly.
Knowing God sees me makes me feel loved, taken care of and it makes my heart smile. I’ve been walking through the valley of grief and it’s a comfort to know that God sees how I hurt and holds me close.
Thank you for being a vessel, Sharon. I am reading your book “A Sudden Glory” and it is truly drawing me closer to the Lord and speaking to my heart. It came at the perfect time.
I feel relief and believe I am loved in spite of myself.
Thank you for posting this, it was what I needed to hear this morning. Been really struggling with the bad choices I’ve made and even now, I’m struggling to know what God wants me to do. I’ll keep praying and trusting in God.