Names of GodSample

Day 5: El Roi – The God Who Sees

Devotional:

Hagar was running.

She wasn’t running a race; she was running from pain, injustice, and mistreatment. She was a pregnant servant girl, cast alone in the desert. Yet it’s there, in her isolation and desperation, that God met her not just with a voice, but with a name: El Roi, The God Who Sees.

This declaration is the only time in Scripture that someone gives God a name, and it comes not from a patriarch or a prophet, but from a mistreated Egyptian servant. Her testimony echoes through the centuries: “I have seen the One who sees me.”

God Sees You When No One Else Does

Hagar was invisible in society. She wasn’t Abraham’s wife; she was Sarah’s slave. She had no say in her situation. She had been used and discarded. Yet God saw her.

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob stopped everything to speak to a runaway slave girl. That’s how personal He is. He is not just the God of the mountaintop; He’s the God of the wilderness. He sees the lonely and the forgotten; He sees you.

You may feel overlooked, undervalued, or unseen. But El Roi sees you. He tracks the tears no one else notices. He knows the fears you don’t speak out loud. He sees the sacrifice, the ache, the longing. Not one moment of your pain is hidden from Him.

Psalm 33:13–14 (NIV) reminds us, “From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth.” You are not invisible to God. You are known and deeply seen.

God Sees With Compassion, Not Condemnation

We often associate being “seen” with judgment or scrutiny. But El Roi doesn’t stare at you with crossed arms. He looks at you with compassion.

When Jesus met the widow of Nain in Luke 7, the Bible says He saw her, and His heart went out to her. He raised her son from the dead. Over and over, Jesus models the heart of El Roi. He sees the suffering and moves toward it.

God’s gaze isn’t cold, it’s comforting. It doesn’t crush, it lifts. He sees what you’ve done and what you’ve endured. His eyes aren’t looking for reasons to reject you. He’s looking for ways to restore you.

When Hagar felt the sting of rejection and the fear of survival, God didn’t say, “Why are you here?” He said, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:8 – NIV). He knew, but He invited her to name her pain, to express her journey.

God Sees the Bigger Picture

El Roi sees what we don’t.

Hagar saw a hopeless escape; God saw a legacy. He promised her that her son, Ishmael, would become the father of a great nation. The name “Ishmael” itself means “God hears.”

So here’s the beauty: God sees and God hears. Even in the mess, God had a plan. God was writing a story despite a broken family and a painful mistake.

The same is true for you. You may be in the middle of a chapter that feels unfair, shameful, or uncertain. But El Roi sees the whole narrative, the person you are becoming with His redemption coming. Trust His vision, even when you can’t see your way forward.

God Sees You So You Can See Him

Hagar said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” Her encounter with God changed her perspective. She returned to her situation, but not unchanged. She went back carrying a promise, empowered by the realization that she was seen by the Most High.

This acknowledgement happens in genuine encounters with El Roi: When you realize that God sees you, your vision of Him changes too.

You begin to see that you’re not abandoned.
You begin to see purpose where you only saw pain.
You begin to see faith grow where fear had rooted.

When you feel like no one understands, remember, He sees. When you feel like giving up, remember, He sees. When you’re wandering in the wilderness, remember, He sees. When you recognize that you are seen, you will begin to live with new eyes.

Prayer:

El Roi, you are the God who sees me. Thank you for seeing me when I feel invisible. Thank you for noticing the pain, fear, and weariness I sometimes carry in silence. You see me not to condemn me, but to comfort and lead me. Help me to see you more clearly, to trust that you’re watching over me with care, not criticism. May I live with the confidence that I am fully known and never forgotten. It is in the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

Reflection Questions:

1. When have you felt unseen or forgotten, and how can remembering El Roi comfort you in those moments?
2. How does knowing God sees your heart change how you approach Him in prayer?
3. How can you show God’s compassionate vision to others who feel overlooked?