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My granddaughter was born in the state of Virginia and moved away at approximately 3 months of age. Back to my daughter-in-law’s home state they went. However, as my granddaughter grew up, we began to visit each other on the computer. We would have time to speak with everyone and see everyone at the same time. It is like being on TV.

At an early age, my granddaughter would play peek-a-boo with me (her Mimi). Yesterday my grandson turned two. As we were visiting, he began to pop up and then down out of sight, playing peek-a-boo with me. He somehow knew how to play with me. It was different from my granddaughter when she would play, she would open and close her hands. She would hide behind her hands and then open them to peek through. My grandson played it differently as he popped out of sight and then into sight. Exciting for Mimi!

In the Word we find a situation where Hagar (a servant) who is pregnant runs away from her mistress (Genesis 16:7-12). “Now the angel of the Lord found her” (16:7). We see God showing up with compassion and concern for this young servant. The angel tells her what to do and then promises that God will multiply her descendants through the child she is carrying. Hagar, encouraged and impressed by this experience, gives a new name to God-” El Roi,” “the God who sees”. She returns to her mistress.

In this verse, God sees Hagar (16:7-12); and Hagar sees God (16:13-16). God saw Hagar’s affliction; as a result, Hagar saw God’s mercy and submitted to Him. Like Hagar, because God sees our affliction, we can see His mercy and submit to Him.

Sometimes I believe people try to play peek-a-boo with God. They think they can step out of his view for a moment and do what they want and then step back into his view. Hebrews 13:5 explains that God will never leave us or abandon us. God is with us when we are in full view of the screen and even if we pop down beneath the screen. Just like I always knew where my grandson was. At all times, God knows where we are!

If you are struggling this week or even feel alone, be encouraged that God is with you! God sees your affliction. He is there to help you even when you cannot seem to see him. A Christ Follower never walks alone. Just reach out to Jesus and receive his mercy and grace!

Yvette Perrin can be reached at theword2yvette@gmail.com.