Listen to today’s devo!

She said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.” That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi; it is still there. (Gen. 16:13–14)

Humans like to create monuments: pyramids, mausoleums, temples, and sports stadiums. In Washington, DC, we have the National Mall. These large, very visible monuments sometimes serve multiple purposes, but one of their purposes is very clear: when you see them, you are supposed to remember. Remember your God, your heroes of the past, your lost loved ones.

Hagar’s monument was smaller in size, but it also served the purpose of remembrance. Beer Lahai Roi means “well of the Living One who sees me.” Not the God who saw her, but the God who sees her. He is continually seeing, never blind to the circumstances Hagar, or anyone else, faces. The well retained that name even as the region became the home of Isaac, the son of the woman who had driven Hagar out into the desert. Each time water was drawn from the well, people had the opportunity to remember that God sees you, even if you are a foreign slave in the desert.

Build mental monuments to help you remember when God has shown up for you. If you ask me about monument moments in my life, I instantly picture a specific corner of a church, a train station in India, and an exhibit hall in Indianapolis. These mental monuments remind me that because God has seen me before, I can trust that he still sees me now.

Trust that no matter what you are going through, God sees you.

Aaron Wilkinson is a member of College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and works at Wesley Seminary. His favorite word is eucatastrophe.

© 2021 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.