We are following Blackaby's book on Experiencing God. Last Sunday we noted that 'experiencing God' leads to knowing God's Name'. We found that God has many names, but they usually come to us during hard times. 


Take Hagar, a personal 'slave' of Sarah, Abraham's wife.  She got caught up in the 'no children' debate between Sarah and Abraham.  Sarah, determined to have a child, 'loaned' Hagar to Abraham . . . she got pregnant.  But her carrying a baby heighten the tension.  Now there were three arguing, rather than two, and Hagar found that she had an edge over Sarah.  After all, she was pregnant, and Sarah wasn't. 


Things got out of hand, so in the middle of the night Hagar packs her bags and runs . . . when the sun came up, she was tired and thirsty . . . alone and pregnant. In a moment of despair God meets her, giving her a new perspective and insight into Abraham's God. Perhaps for the first time she learned that there was a 'real God' who cared for her. She learned that she was not alone, God was watching over her . . . here she met El Roi, the God who sees. She was instructed to go back to Sarah and Abraham, but from this moment on, she was not alone. El Roi was always there. 


It was probably a 'bitter/sweet' moment as she walked into camp . . . Sarah fuming, Abraham frustrated by it all. Surely she shared with them what had happened in the desert  . . . El Roi was watching out for her. But the story doesn't end there . . . following her fresh understanding that she was a very significant person in the eyes of God, comes Abraham's fresh insight . . . El Shaddai, God who is more than sufficient. El Shaddai would not allow his and Sarah's age stand in the way . . . imagine that . . . God not only sees all things, He is more than sufficient to see to it that His promises are kept . . . despite apparent barriers.


More often than not I need to know that El Roi is watching out for me.  How about you?