Someone Does See You
Your Nightly Prayer for Jan. 21, 2025
by Keri Eichberger
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
"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.'” - Genesis 16:13
SOMETHING TO PONDER
You know those moments when you read or hear something, and it’s as if someone snuck into your heart, sorted through the mess and muck of your tangled-up emotions, and then spit out an exact summary of what you could never put into words yourself. And it represented precisely what you’d been feeling hard for quite some time. That’s how I felt when I read these words from Jennie Allen’s book Untangle Your Emotions. “The energy to suppress emotion can make it difficult to be present with other people.” Amen, is what my soul sang as I jotted down this line to keep handy, for a future moment I felt the need to explain myself, or my absence, when life forced me into isolation again.
And regarding that statement, I’ve since asked myself, Why? Why is there a need to suppress emotions around people? If this is how I feel, it seems the solution is to stop suppressing and just share. Right? But it’s not that easy. Because quite frankly, many times, people don’t seem to care. I’ve tested the waters and opened up a bit, but the acknowledgment of the depth of my struggle sometimes seems to be dismissed. So I’ve concluded it must be better to either keep quiet or, if the struggle pushed past a concealable pain point, to just stay away altogether.
Do you sometimes feel like no one really sees you or truly cares? I wonder if you also find it hard to be present with people because of the struggle to stuff all your hard feelings?
If so, I’m sorry. This can make walking through certain circumstances extremely difficult and hurtful. Because we long for someone to share with, to know we matter, and for support and strength to sustain the stress and strains of life. God made us for community and to desire their connection. But the hard part is, sometimes we can’t seem to find or aren’t circumstantially surrounded by people who seem to care. At least not to the degree we think we need when life throws the harder punches.
I’m sure through your moments of feeling overlooked, you’ve glanced to God for comfort. But I’m also pretty sure many times your heart has desired something more that you could visibly see, audibly hear, and tangibly feel. I’ve wanted this, too. But I think we’re forgetting the vastness of the character of the only ever-present, truly unconditionally loving friend we both have in Jesus. I do think we should keep praying for a friend with unique eyes to see the value of our souls. But in the meantime, I think we could use a little refresher as to who God is, what he sees, and what it should mean to us.
Early in the Bible, we are assured that God is El Roi, the God who sees us. He most definitely sees you and acknowledges every hurting speck in your heart. And he knows you want to be seen by others. But I believe he wants to remind us that others are the bonus blessing. And that he is not only the primary gift of our life but that he can fill us in ways we don’t tap into nearly enough and beyond the extent anyone else could. Sometimes, I wonder if God allows me to remain in spaces of feeling unseen so I can turn harder toward him, to see and acknowledge his unlimited ability and awareness, and to remember to the degree that he does see me with his infinite, inconceivable love. This is what fills me. Him. And he is the one who will fill you, too.
I understand you want to feel seen. I understand it can make you want to isolate. Me too. But God created us for presence with people. And if we come across a moment when it seems we’re overlooked, let’s look to the Lord. And remember how much we are constantly loved, cared for, and acknowledged—every perfect piece he made of us. Friend, someone does see you and me, and his name is Jesus.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Lord, You are El Roi, the God who sees. You see me in a way no one can, though I still tend to turn to the world for acknowledgment. Please forgive me for seeking more than you. Help me remember that you are the only one who fully sees me. That you never take your eyes off me. And that you supply all I need. Lord, You see the good, the not-so-good, and the really rough of my life. And you care. More than I could ever dream. I am so blessed by you alone. In Your Son’s Name, Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Do you feel unseen or like no one seems to acknowledge something about you or something that matters to you?
2. Are you wholeheartedly seeking God as your sole source of fulfillment and validation?
3. How might your interaction with others change if you understood the depth of God’s love and his ability to see, care for, and watch over every single aspect of your circumstances and struggles?
Photo Credit: © Getty Images/demaerre
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