EL RO’I — THE GOD WHO SEES

Sermon by Ps Peter Lui

Pastor Peter concluded our series on the Hebrew names of God with El Ro’i, a name not given by a patriarch or prophet — but by Hagar, an Egyptian slave woman fleeing into the wilderness. In Genesis 16, Hagar experienced God in her darkest moment and declared, “You are the God who sees me.”

1. God Sees Us — With Understanding and Compassion
God’s “seeing” goes far beyond observing. The Hebrew word ro’i carries layers of meaning: visual perception, mental understanding, spiritual discernment, and decisive intervention. God saw Hagar’s desperation, heard her cry, spoke hope into her future, and led her back with a promise. His seeing always leads to compassionate action.

2. God Watches Over Us — With Protection and Delight
The Bible repeatedly affirms that nothing escapes God’s sight.
His eyes “run to and fro throughout the whole earth,” keeping watch over His people. Like a Shepherd guarding His flock and a Father protecting His children, God watches our coming and going, our dangers, our sorrows, and even our silent tears.
Israel was called “the apple of His eye” — and believers today share that same protective love.

3. God Sees the Invisible and the Overlooked
Hagar was marginalized — foreign, enslaved, pregnant, alone, and mistreated. But she was never unseen. God sought her out in the desert and met her personally. Scripture shows God doing this repeatedly — with Israel in bondage, with Hezekiah in tears, with the crushed in spirit (Ps 34:18), and even with the sparrows Jesus mentioned (Matt 10:29–31).

Pastor Peter challenged us:
Stop running. Stop hiding. Come out of fear, shame, or despair and return to El Ro’i. He sees where you are — physically, emotionally, spiritually. He knows why you’re there. And He wants to lead you to where you belong.

Whatever seems impossible today, El Ro’i, El Shaddai, El Elyon, and El Olam are one and the same God — powerful, unchanging, sovereign, and deeply personal.
He sees you, He hears you, and He will make a way.