I love this quote from Dr. Christie, "...instead of 'single,' see yourself as first 'SEEN' by God."
So many of my friends are single. Most of us that are single at my age (57) no longer wear "single" as a status. We look at ourselves through a wonderfully broken mirror.
We have SURVIVED. We are broken. We have made mistakes. We have recovered. We are survivors. We now, at this age, understand and can feel SEEN.
What a lovely place to arrive at. With the majority of our lives behind us and Heaven coming up closer into our vision, we can now accept the mistakes we made, own them, and see ourselves as seen and move forward.
But some of my single friends still feel like Single is their Status, and do not yet feel Seen. I love today's reading because it makes such an important point and made me look at a familiar Bible story in a new way. That story is the story of Hagar.
Some of you may have seen Angel Studio's newest release, "His Only Son" focusing on the story of Abraham and Isaac. In this film, we see Hagar briefly, as her story and pathway contribute and intersect with Abraham's. She is in the movie for a fleeting moment, much like her time in Scripture (which is why most of us overlook her so many times).
Dr. Christie's viewpoint today takes the Biblical spotlight and turns it around to place it on Hagar. Wow, what an important viewpoint and one we need to pay attention to! If you are SINGLE and not feeling SEEN, let's read today's lesson together below.
"When you read through God’s Word as a single woman, you may not see yourself reflected in the “hero” stories of the Bible, but you’re wrong.
In fact, the very first person recorded in the Bible to call the Lord by His name was Hagar, a single mom.
Like Hagar, you may feel like you wear your “single” relationship status like a scarlet letter of shame. Hagar, being a single, pregnant woman was as vulnerable as you can be as a woman in that time and place. So, when the Lord calls her by name in Genesis 16:8 and says “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” it’s like he has an exact GPS on her life. His question wasn’t because He didn’t know where she physically was, but it was one of care. He knew the details of her situation and He cared for her.
She saw Him and said, “So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing’ for she said, ‘Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.”- Genesis 16:13
As an Egyptian servant girl, Hagar had never truly seen beyond her status. God saw her, her painful past, and her fears about the future and He gave her a blessing and spoke to her deepest fears by providing her hope and comfort."
Who else loves this new spotlight on Hagar? Wow.
Often portrayed as barely more than a "sentence" in Scripture, Dr. Christie shows us that God saw Hagar - a single, pregnant Mom - and cared for her.
Even in Scripture, God shows us that being single (and pregnant) matters. He gingerly comes to Hagar to say, "I see you. I care for you." Hagar immediately went from single as a STATUS to being single and SEEN. How incredibly beautiful.
I love that we serve a God that puts a single, pregnant Mother into the Bible to show us that He SEES us. Even in our SINGLENESS.
But wait. There is one more nugget I want you to catch...
Scripture also tells us (and did you catch this part...) that HAGAR SAW HIM: "Truly here, I have seen Him who looks after me." (Gen. 16:13)
God allowed a servant to SEE HIM.
A pregnant, single woman was permitted access to SEE HIM and to also call Him Lord.
To understand the weight and gravity of this opportunity, you have to remember the time period in which this experience happened. Not only were women considered "less than" or unimportant, an unmarried, pregnant servant woman would have been considered the very least of all the "least."
This was an unprecedented event!
God then went even further and blessed Hagar and her unborn baby, speaking to the fears hidden in her heart and giving her comfort.
Wow.
I want you to take some time today and go read that story. Let it sink in. God is turning the spotlight of Scripture onto a pregnant, single, servant woman.
He is speaking to you. You are not just a STATUS on a social media platform. You are SEEN by a Holy, Righteous, and Powerful God. The only God.
He SEES us. He gives us hope and comfort.
Remove SINGLE from your status today and replace it with SEEN. You have been SEEN.
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