EL ROI – The God Who Sees

The jail cell of Perpetua – one of the first known Christian martyrs in Carthage. Despite knowing what lay ahead (being killed in a Roman colosseum) she praised God from this cell and refused to renounce him, despite her family’s pleas for her to do so and spare her life. Surely, she was a woman who knew El Roi.

El Roi – the God who sees

Genesis 16 tells the story of Hagar, Sarah’s maidservant. Sarah is the wife of Abraham, patriarch of Jewish nation and the one promised to have more descendants than stars in the sky. While they knew God had promised them children, they grew weary of waiting. Frustrated over being barren, Sarah tells Abraham to sleep with Hagar and have a child, impatient with God to fulfill the promise he made to them. Unsurprisingly, this results in chaos and Sarah becomes jealous and cruel toward Hagar after the birth of the child. When Hagar runs away from the family, she flees into the desert. While there, she meets the Angel of the Lord who tells her to return and to submit to the family once again, promising God’s protection and provision for her and her child. Hagar was overwhelmed at the thought that God might see and care for her, a lowly slave. Genesis 16:13 says, “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.”

This verse is a comforting one to me. I often meditate on the truth that God is the God who sees me. Even when I feel forgotten by others, I know I am never forgotten by God. Recently the Lord revealed a new message to me through this word. Let’s look at that name, El Roi – the God who sees. It was the ROI that captured my attention. Being back in America for a season, I am surrounded by acronyms and abbreviations. One of those heard often in financial context is ROI – return on investment. People want to know the ROI before they put their money on the line. What will they receive for making their investment? How risky is it? What will they lose? What might they gain?

This western way of thinking about the return on investment can creep into missions as well. Missionaries write updates and newsletters, sharing statistics and stories with their ministry partners. Those aren’t bad things. We want to measure what is working well and what is being done. But can we ever truly measure the worth of the work?

What is one life worth?

If one soul is saved through a seed planted in service, was the ROI worth the investment?

These aren’t just questions to quickly glance over – really think about them. How do we know the value of a long obedience in the same direction? Can we ever fully know the ROI on our eternal investments on this side of heaven?

I realized that if I’m not careful, I can get caught up in making sure our ministry partners understand that the ROI is worth their investment. But what if instead of worrying about the ROI, we look instead to EL ROI, remembering that they have made a kingdom investment and that investment is being watched by the God who sees? I trust his multiplication skills much more than my own and I’ve seen the supernatural way math works in his kingdom.

There is no safer or more worthy investment.

 Even if we were to lose it all (and that has happened to us physically in ministry before), we can trust that the God who sees is with us, just as he was with Hagar, and he will multiply the mustard seed investments into mighty work for his kingdom, restore anything that has been lost, and redeem for generations to come.

May we always remember we are seen.

Stephanie

*If you enjoyed this post and would like to reflect on this topic further, I recommend listening to The Goodness of God by CeCe Winans while journaling through moments where you have seen God’s faithfulness in your past. Reflecting on his goodness, his provision, and his faithfulness can help remind us we are seen when we feel unseen. For further study, read Genesis 16 in a study bible and journal what stands out most to you in the reading.