Jehovah El Roi: The God Who Sees Me

I had learned a lot recently about God and His many names that appear throughout the Old Testament.

I could remember offhand what the popular names meant like Jehovah Rafa, the Lord our Healer, Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider, and Jehovah Sabaoth, the Lord who fights for us.

But as I continued along my walk with God and getting to know Him better, I started coming across content on His many other names.

But one name hit a little too close to home for me: Jehovah El Roi, the God who sees me.

For too long I carried the wounds of rejection and abandonment and felt like no one would ever stay.

Sure, I knew God was with me in theory but I didn’t really grasp it.

I felt as though God does hear me but He is in heaven, far removed from me and what I am going through.

That there was this big separation between us.

But our Father is Jehovah El Roi, the God who sees us. Who sees not only the hurt and pain but all the joy and happiness.

When it clicked that God really did see me and what I had been going through, I felt validated. Like God truly has been with me all this time and I wasn’t alone with God so distant from me.

We first hear of this name as the name Hagar gives to God in Genesis 16:13 (NIV) which reads,“She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me,” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”

God sees us and wants us to lay it all down before Him. To lay down everything we experience and every part of us, the good and the bad. To use it for His good and show us His abounding love.

In Psalm 56:8 (NLT), David says to God,

“You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.”

James 4:8 (NKJV) tells us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you”. And we have the reassurance Psalm 34:18 (NIV) gives us that “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

There is no distance in prayer to connect with God who is always beside us.

How fortunate are we that we serve a God who not only sees us but who has experienced humanity which brings us to an even closer connection with Him.

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NIV) provides more insight into who Jesus is by explaining to us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Another instance where God truly sees someone is the conversation Jesus had with Nathaniel in John 1. In this passage of scripture, Jesus calls Phillip and Nathaniel to be His disciples.

John 1:57-49 (NIV) reads, “When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you. Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.”

Jesus not only saw Nathaniel at the fig tree but saw his heart and character. God sees us and who we really are.

While we can wear different masks with different people if we choose to, we can’t hide our true nature from Him.

Jeremiah 17:10 (NIV) states “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”

We also see God take notice of the Israelites’ suffering in Egypt which eventually led to Him delivering them from slavery.

In Exodus 2:23-25 (NIV), we read “During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.”

Isn’t that the best thing? To have a God that not only hears our cries and sees us in our brokenness but loves us enough to not leave us where we are.

It’s a popular phrase, to be loved is to be seen and nothing can separate you from God’s love as written in Romans 8:38-39. Always remember that God sees you, affirms you in love and calls you His own.

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