He Sees You

Invisible.

That’s a label I’ve clung to for a long time. It’s always been hard for me to find my place in this world, to feel like I truly fit in with people. As a quiet person, it’s easy to blend into the background, to be overlooked or passed by. To be in a crowded room, and yet feel completely alone.

Insecurity settled into my heart at a young age, creating a deep desire for validation from people to feel like I was enough.

If I just had more friends, I'd be happier.

If that guy noticed me, maybe I'd finally feel special.

We all have a deep desire to be seen, to be fully known and loved, and to feel special and important to someone. But when our identity is tied to other people’s approval, our emotions will rise and fall constantly.

This is not a healthy place to live in. Because what happens on those days when we are forgotten by people? When someone is not that kind?

But, if our identity is rooted in Jesus and His love for us, we can live with a steady confidence and peace. No matter who or who doesn’t see us.

So why do we desire human approval so much? What is a person compared to the glory and majesty of the God of the universe?

They can’t compare.

The same God who created the galaxies, the deserts and oceans, and the valleys and mountains, is the One who intricately created me. And you. He alone fully knows us and understands us in a way no person ever can. While the world sees only the outside, God sees our hearts.

He knows our fears, our desires, the way our minds work.

He sees the pain we carry that no one else notices.

And He sees the gifts and passions He placed inside of us.

And yes, as we live, God blesses us with people who love us and see us: family, friends, and for some, a spouse who knows you better than anyone else does.

But even then, no person can ever fully understand you the way God does.

That’s why it’s so important not to build our identity on people. Even the people closest to us will fail us, hurt us, and misunderstand us at times. And because this world is broken, there is also loss.

In those moments when we feel the weight of this world’s imperfection, we can run to the perfect love of God to sustain us. To the one who will never hurt us or abandon us.

And one of the ways God shows that love is by seeing those the world overlooks.

We see this clearly in Genesis 16, where God sees Hagar, a slave of Sarai (later Sarah). Being a slave, she likely felt invisible and unimportant. And not only was Hagar unseen, she was also mistreated and misunderstood by Sarai.

God had promised Sarai a son, but in her impatience, she took things into her own hands and had Hagar sleep with her husband, Abram (later Abraham), to have a child. However, when Hagar became pregnant, Sarai grew jealous and harsh, eventually sending her away to the desert.

Alone in the desert, Hagar likely felt afraid, abandoned, and unsure if she would survive.

But God met her there.

In verse 8, an angel of the Lord appeared to Hagar, and asked, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

“I’m running away from my mistress Sarai,” she answered.  

Then the angel told her, “Go back to your mistress and submit to her. I will increase your descendants so much that they will be too numerous to count.”

Hagar responded by giving God the name El Roi, “The God who sees me.”

I love that detail so much! Hagar, a woman the world considered invisible, is the first person in Scripture recorded to give God a name.

That is not accidental.

I believe God was showing us, and showing her, that she was never invisible to Him.

Later in Genesis 21, when Hagar is again sent into the desert by Sarah, God hears her son Ishmael crying and provides water for them. Once again, He shows that He sees her, hears her, and cares for her.

Just like in Hagar’s story, I’ve seen God’s constant provision in my own life. Moments where He shows up in ways that feel deeply personal, reminding me that He is with me.

So many times, when I’ve felt invisible to people, He has reminded me:

I see you.

I experienced a moment like this recently, at the beginning of the year. I went to a young adult Christian conference called Passion, where there were 45,000 people. It was such a beautiful time of worshiping Jesus, surrounded by so many like-minded young adults. But even there, the enemy’s lies were loud.

In the middle of that huge crowd, I started to feel invisible and unseen. I started comparing myself to the girls around me who seemed so put together, while I felt ugly and insecure, even hating how my hair looked and the outfit I had worn. I felt like a shadow in the background.

That morning during worship, my heart felt so heavy. The lies were loud, shouting in my mind.

But then the speaker shared a message that spoke directly to my heart and into the exact season I was in. I had already been feeling unseen and overlooked, even by God, so I

needed to hear those words.

As the message lingered in my mind, the worship song started.

The moment I heard the lyrics to “Good Plans,” the tears started flowing.

This was my song, the one I’ve run to as a reminder that God has good plans for my life. I don’t even know how to explain it, but in that moment, I felt so seen by God in such an intimate and personal way. The tears started flowing, and I felt his presence so tangibly.

It’s like He was gently reminding me:

I see you.

Later that day, my friends I were in a small boutique shop. I stopped to look at some bracelets that had Bible verses on them. My cousin Mia picked one up and said, “This one is for you Megan.”

It read, "Seen."

I was so in awe of God.

Isn’t He so intentional?

That trip is one of those moments I will hold onto as a reminder that God truly does see me.

And yet, even since then, I’ve still struggled with those same insecurities at times.

But writing this blog post is my declaration:

I will not let the enemy’s lies define me or convince me that I am unseen or unimportant.

And my hope is that as you read this, you find freedom too.

That you root your identity in this truth:

God sees you.

In whatever situation you’re in:

If you feel lonely,

Scared,

Misunderstood,

Abandoned,

Invisible,

Unknown.

He sees you.

You are not unknown to God.

Invisible to the world doesn’t mean invisible to God.

He will never leave you, abandon you, or forget you.

No pain you carry goes unnoticed.

No prayer you whisper goes unheard.

Because you are His beloved.

And He has always seen you.

“Though she may forget, I will not forget you!  See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:15-16)