The God Who Sees Me

I struggle with waiting on God. Yet when I review my life experiences, what I see in the rearview mirror is a series of waiting moments, beginning with my earliest memory of waiting to meet the mother who had abandoned me as a baby.

Later in life, I waited to get married and then to have children.

These earlier and later experiences shaped how I came to view waiting on God.

Throughout my Christian journey, there have been many times when I have come to Him in prayer asking for something I desperately wanted or needed.

Sometimes I have prayed for days, weeks, months, and even years, but God still seems silent. In those early morning hours, I have often wondered, Am I merely talking to myself or whispering in the dark? Has God also abandoned me? Is He even listening? If you have walked with God for a while, I have no doubt that you, too, have your own waiting stories to tell. The thing is, waiting is hard. It is no wonder the psalmist encourages himself, and us, with these words: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart” (Psalm 27:14, KJV). As I have continued to reflect on my experiences waiting on God, what I have come to know and appreciate is this: If we choose to spend the time focused on the outcome for which we are praying—a job, a spouse, children, healing, or whatever else—we will miss the great gift that is found in the waiting experience itself. Yes, the gift! The challenge ought to be found in shifting our attention from what we are waiting for to the person we are waiting with.

That person is God Himself, El Roi—the God who sees.

Our difficult waiting seasons provide precious opportunities to see and experience Him up close and to know that He sees us too. In these moments of distress, we can cry out to God with an earnest vulnerability often lacking in seasons of ease and abundance.

This is the perfect positioning for us to have a pivotal encounter with Him.

Like Hagar, we will be able to say, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Let us determine to wait on Him—and with Him.

Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez