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.”

Genesis 16:13

Back in November, I wrote about Hagar’s story as we studied God’s name, El Roi, the God of Seeing. Recently, I’ve dug a little deeper into the scripture surrounding Hagar’s experience with the Living God and I’d like to share a bit more about it with you today. If you aren’t familiar with her story, you may want to check out the November 28th post “El Roi” first.

You see, what’s come to amaze me the most about Hagar’s wilderness experience isn’t that God saw her in the middle of nowhere and intervened in her physical situation, but that He saw into her heart and gave instruction to improve her spiritual condition. Then, He saw to her physical situation. 

In Genesis 16:1-5 we see that, upon conceiving Abraham’s child, Hagar began to despise Abraham’s wife, Sarah. Some versions may say she began to scorn Sarah or that she was proud and arrogant toward Sarah. Clearly, the work-around Sarah created to fulfill God’s covenant with Abraham had an adverse effect on Hagar’s spiritual health; she must have been a very good servant for Sarah to trust her to bear her husband’s children on her behalf, but once pregnant, Hagar’s attitude toward Sarah took a negative turn, damaging their relationship of mistress and servant to the point that Hagar ran away.

When the angel found Hagar in the wilderness, he gave her God’s physical reassurances – He would multiply her offspring to so great a number they could not be counted and her son Ishmael would be a mighty warrior (v.10-12). But – true to God’s nature – God gave her so much more than physical provision. He addressed the root of the issue that found her in the wilderness in the first place – her attitude. The angel told her “Go back to your mistress and submit to her authority” (v.9). 

You see, God could have brought Hagar safely home by simply removing Sarah’s feelings of offense (which I’ve always imagined He worked Sarah through to bring her healing too), but that wouldn’t have removed Hagar’s scorn for Sarah or her arrogant attitude toward Sarah. Her spiritual condition would still have been poor, and their relationship would have been strained at best and toxic at worst.

But God is a Yahweh-Rapha, the Lord Who Heals. He doesn’t just patch up situations from the outside. He works to heal us from the inside, transforming our worldly attitude to a Christ-like attitude.

Let’s dig into God’s word to receive some of His relationship building and healing instruction.

•  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. – Romans 12:17-18
• Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. – 1 John 4:21
• A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. – Proverbs 19:11
• Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. – Philippians 2:3-4
•  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. – Ephesians 4:32
• Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11
• And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. – 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Sweet friend, God looks out for our external situation and our internal condition. His Word is filled with instruction to help us maintain a healthy relationship with Him and with others. 

Prayer Prompt

Pray, thanking God for looking out for you physically and spiritually.

Praise God for His perfect vision, for seeing right to the root of our troubles and transforming us from the inside out.

Petition God to search your heart and reveal anything in your attitude that is damaging your relationship with Him, with yourself (mental health is so important friend), or with others. Ask Him to bring you spiritual instruction and healing just as He did with Hagar and so many others.