The God Who Sees Me (how the gospel works)

Have you ever had that feeling that someone is following you?  Often times people who have experienced trauma are set off by the sound of echoing footsteps in the subway tunnel, a snapping branch in the twilight woods, or by a small gesture or noise that brings their trauma rushing back to them.  Our church service this morning was about  just such a story of trauma.  A woman who was taken as a slave from her homeland was mistreated by her master, taken by force by her master's husband and found to be with child.  Sarai, her master greatly resented this pregnancy and began severely mistreating and abusing her.  In desperation, Hagar ran from her only home to an unknown and most likely fearsome destination.  Hagar had no destination in mind,except for one that did not include Sarai and Abram. Although I cannot imagine her pain, there was a time in my life when I was running as well. Maybe the trauma was not as severe, but the destination was just as vague and bleak.  In a perfect example of God's pursuing love, and of the absolute grace that he extended when I did nothing to reach out to Him, he saw me and saved me.  The same happened to Hagar.  God actually showed up to her, asked her to step out in faith by following Him into a path that was clearer, although not one that would be free from trials. Here we have a woman whom society would have shunned, who had absolutely no place to go, and had absolutely no connection to God.  She ran exactly because she lacked that connection.  God saw her though.  God saw her hurt, and her mistreatment and saw that her future was bleak at best.  He reached out to her, cut through her own anger and fear, promised her a future that would be secure, and most importantly, made it clear that He saw her.  Her pain was not hidden.  Her fear was not disguised.  This same God is still pursuing us. In fact, the whole of His story throughout the Bible is that God pursues us. He sees us.  Not just in the "don't do anything wrong, God is watching" sense, but in the "everything may be going wrong, but God is watching"sense. He was watching a scared, lonely, single mother who had nowhere to go and no plan when she reached there.  He is watching you as well. Your pain, your anger at others, your anger at God, the heights and depths of your addiction, the hidden areas where no one else has even a glimpse of your hurt.  He sees it and feels it and will pursue you and wants nothing more than to take that feeling upon himself.  He did that for us on the cross.  It is just up to you to respond to the God Who Sees You.