El Roi: The God Who Sees
El Roi: The God Who Sees
Welcome to Advent: He Shall Be Called
Advent invites us to slow down and remember that long before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, God was already revealing Himself—promise by promise, name by name. Each name displays His heart, His character, and His intention toward His people. This season, as we begin our series He Shall Be Called, we’re exploring several of those names and discovering how they help us know Him more fully.
What’s in a Name?
Parents feel immense pressure when naming a child because a name follows a person everywhere. Some names honor family; others are avoided because of students teachers never forget. And then there are the famously unique choices—Moon Unit, Dweezil, Arson, Kaos, Covid, and the unforgettable Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii. Names matter. They shape identity and communicate meaning. That’s especially true when it comes to the names of God.
Parents even think about syllables and sound combinations, which makes names like Iona Gunn, Jim Shu, Reign Beau, and Russell Mania feel a little too intentional. They remind us that names are never just labels. They tell a story—and nowhere is that truer than with God.
Why God’s Names Matter
Understanding the names of God enriches our understanding of who He is and how He relates to us.
1. God’s Names Reveal His Character
God’s names do more than describe what He does—they declare who He is. When we encounter Him as Jehovah Jireh, we’re not just learning that He provides occasionally; we’re seeing that provision is woven into His very nature. He never acts outside His character.
2. God’s Names Address Our Need
Nearly every place in Scripture where God reveals a name is a moment of human desperation. The fearful discover the God of peace. The sick encounter the God who heals. The weak find the God who strengthens. God doesn’t reveal His names in palaces but in deserts, valleys, and storms—places where our need is undeniable.
3. God’s Names Shape Our Confidence
Knowing God as Shepherd helps us trust His leading. Knowing Him as Refuge helps us rest in His protection. Knowing Him as Counselor gives us confidence to follow His Word. His names remind us that we never navigate life alone.
All of this leads us to one of the most tender names in Scripture: El Roi—the God who sees.
God Sees Where We Are
The name El Roi appears in Genesis 16, and remarkably, it doesn’t come from a patriarch or prophet. It comes from a pregnant servant girl named Hagar, a foreigner fleeing mistreatment and running for her life. Alone in the desert, fearful and vulnerable, she becomes the first person in Scripture to give God a name.
Genesis 16:7 tells us that “the angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert.” This “angel of the Lord” is not an ordinary angel but a theophany—God Himself appearing in physical form. He finds her, intentionally seeking out someone everyone else overlooked.
He meets her by a spring, a literal source of life in a barren place. This image captures the heart of the moment: God brings hope where hope seems impossible. And just as He found Hagar, He finds us. He sees the deserts we walk into—our fears, exhaustion, confusion, and uncertainty—and He meets us right there. When Christ came in the flesh, He once again stepped into our wilderness as living water in a dry world.
God Hears Our Affliction
After finding Hagar, God asks her, “Where have you come from, and where are you going?” (Genesis 16:8). He’s not asking for information but inviting honesty. Hagar responds simply: “I’m running away from my mistress Sarai.”
God then reveals that she will have a son and gives her a name for him: Ishmael, meaning “God hears” (Genesis 16:11). Every time Hagar would speak his name, she would remember that God heard her misery and responded with compassion.
No cry is too small for God. No prayer is too unpolished. We hold in so much pain assuming God is indifferent, but Hagar’s story reminds us that He invites us to bring every fear, frustration, and wound into His presence. The God who heard her hears you. And Jesus proves this by entering our brokenness, taking it on Himself, and meeting us with mercy.
God Makes Himself Known
Then comes the moment that names this message: “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). El Roi doesn’t mean that God simply notices; it means He sees with understanding, compassion, and presence. Hagar had no power, no advocate, and no hope—but she was not invisible to God.
We know what it feels like to be unseen: overlooked at work, ignored in relationships, forgotten among friends, or uncertain whether God notices the weight we carry. But El Roi tells us that He sees the burdens we shoulder alone, the wounds we never voice, the loneliness we hide behind smiles, and the disappointment we barely admit to ourselves. And His seeing is not passive—it is engagement. God meets us at the point where our strength runs out.
Scripture gives us more examples. Simeon, old and overlooked, was seen by God and promised he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Anna, widowed and unnoticed by most, became one of the first to proclaim Jesus’ redemption. Like Hagar, both were met by God in places society easily ignores.
Christmas is the ultimate statement that God sees us—not from afar but up close, stepping into our world through a manger.
Wherever You Are Today…
No matter how invisible, forgotten, or cast aside you may feel, Hagar’s testimony becomes your invitation: El Roi—the God who sees me, and the God who sees you.
SERMON DETAILS
Speaker: Jeff McNicol
Series: He Shall Be Called
Sermon Title: El Roi: The God Who Sees
Date: Dec 7, 2025
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Genesis 16:7-13
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