God who sees me - an encouragement for moms

Recently I was given the privilege to speak with a local Mom's group, sharing about our past trip and what it's like being a mom on the mission field.

I proceeded to share about our trip, and my experiences of being a mom on the field. As I was praying and preparing before the session, I also felt to share something the Lord had shown me during one of my morning devotion's in Turkey, as an encouragement to these moms.

Every morning our team would begin worship and prayer time at 8:00 am. This particular morning (in Turkey) I kept thinking and dwelling on how there is so much love in my God’s eyes, how His eyes are full of kindness.

Amanda Cook says in her song “You Don’t Miss a Thing:”

“There’s no place I could go your love won’t find me

No place I could hide that you don’t see

No place I could fall that your love won’t catch me

You see it all, you see it all through the eyes of love

You’re in everything, You’re all around me

When I’m misunderstood your love understands me,

You see it all, you see it all”

This got me thinking about what the Lord sees, which brought me to the story of Hagar in Genesis, chapter 16.

Hagar was a maidservant of Sarai. Sarai was unable to conceive so she forced Hagar to become a secondary wife, forced to sleep with Abram and become pregnant. And she did. (Pretty intense, if I may say so...)

I imagine the emotions going on inside of this woman. She acted out in contempt towards Sarai, and mistreated her. So as punishment, Sarai treats her harshly and humiliates her. And Hagar runs.

Hagar flees her mistress and runs to the dessert. But then it says the Angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness. And He addresses her, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid” and asks where she came from and where she’s going. She admits she’s running away. He tells her to go back to her mistress and submit humbly to her authority. Then He goes on to tell her of her son and the things to come of him. She responds with this:

“you are God who sees.” For she said, “Have I not even here (in the wilderness) remained alive after seeing Him (who sees me with understanding and compassion)?” (AMP version)

She had done wrong, yes, by treating her mistress with contempt and addressing her infertility. But here’s this woman who’s lived a hard life. She’s a servant, she’s forced to be a wife, and to become pregnant. I think anyone can read this story and understand the difficulties this woman faced, and why she treated her mistress harshly. Nevertheless, she had made a mistake, and she was punished and humiliated. So she runs. And the Lord finds her, and shows up. In the old testament, this was very uncommon, and she knows this. 

And He finds her, understands her, and He corrects her, and directs her. And she says, “You are the God who sees me.” Had Hagar ever been seen with understanding and compassion?

Therefore the well was called ‘Beer-lahai-roi’ which means, “well of the living one who sees me.”

He found her, met her, knew her, spoke to her, and understood her. He saw her and had compassion on her. 

This particular story is one of my favorites as the Lord shows His love and compassion, and understanding for this new mom.

How often mother's do feel overlooked, misunderstood, and unseen. I want to share three stories I shared with the Mom's group. These are three women I encountered while overseas, all mothers, who God saw and were changed by His love. 

Gulistan - An outcast in her society, mother of two, depressed after her father's passing, and feeling hopeless. She'd been befriended by local missionaries five years ago and they have prayed for her and been there for her. We visited this woman and prayed for dreams and for her to know the hope of Jesus. Exactly one week later Gulistan's friend had a dream about Jesus and this led to the missionaries being able to witness to them openly and B O T H ladies accepted Jesus! Not one, but two mothers, who came to know the true hope of Christ.

Augusta - Mother and grandmother, part of a family of witches (practicing witchcraft and voodoo), very sick. She belonged to the village we were about to visit. I previously had a dream about an elderly woman who was wearing red and was very sick. When I saw her, I heard the Holy Spirit say, "that's her." The next day she approached our team and they offered to pray for her. She said everything hurt and she'd been so sick. They told her about my dream and she confirmed, "she had a dream about me!" Our team prayed with her and she was healed, and then accepted Jesus! Then she pointed at her grandsons and said, "please, pray for them!" 

Expecting Mom -  A young new mom in one of the villages we'd visited, expecting her first child and one month away from her due date. As I met this woman I could see the excitement but also the fear. Complications and death occur far more frequently in third world countries than in first world, as they do not have the medical advantages we have. I pointed to my two year old and told her how I was also nervous when I was pregnant, because we don't know how things will go. But I shared how the Lord told me He would be with me. I told her, "The Lord wants you to know He will also be with you, and to have peace." She was glowing with the biggest and sweetest smile.

I wonder what it must have felt like for Gulistan, to know that the God of the universe saw her, that He cared that her hope and joy would be restored.

I wonder what it must have felt like for Augusta, to have been so sick, unable to move, and the God of redeeming love sees her. He gives someone a dream about her so that she would be chased, found, healed and would know His redeeming love.

I wonder what it must have felt like for the young mom, a month away from her due date, to know that God saw her. That he sent these foreigners from across the world to find this village and tell her that He would be with her when she would give birth and to have peace.

He is the God that sees.

Something my incredible mother shared with me after having Avery was, "being a mom is the greatest form of discipleship."

How right she is! We have our children from the start. We teach them, influence them, and help mold their futures and launch them towards success.

Proverbs 31:25-31 "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 

Being a mom is my first, my favorite, and my most rewarding ministry!

For the moms reading this, be encouraged, for God sees YOU! He sees everything you do, the state of your heart, and all the love you pour into your children.

He sees you when you do the laundry, the dishes, clean the house, and clean up the mid-potty training accidents. He sees you when you're up in the middle of the night because your little one doesn't feel like sleeping. And He loves what you do. God sees you with understanding and compassion. And your job is so important! You are an influencer, and you are a missionary to your child(ren). You are raising your babies to be mountain-movers, and world-changers!

Y O U   A R E   S E E N. 

Y O U    A R E   I M P O R T A N T.

F O R   H E   I S   G O D   W H O   S E E S.

Genesis 16:13, "Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are Heb El roi; God never sleeps, He sees, He is aware, He is the great Omnipresent God.God Who Sees," for she said, “Have I not even here [in the wilderness] remained alive after Heb El roi; God never sleeps, He sees, He is aware, He is the great Omnipresent God.seeing Him [who sees me with understanding and compassion]?"