About this episode

This episode explores the story of Hagar in Genesis and how God sees and acknowledges those who feel overlooked.

Feeling unseen is one of the most painful human experiences, and it is one that Scripture takes seriously. The story of Hagar in Genesis 16 begins in the middle of a household in chaos. Abram and Sarai, tired of waiting on God's promise of a child, took matters into their own hands. Sarai offered her Egyptian slave Hagar to Abram, and Abram passively agreed. The consequences were immediate and devastating. Hagar became pregnant, Sarai became resentful, and the entire household unraveled. Hagar, who had no voice and no choice in any of it, eventually fled into the desert alone, carrying a child and carrying the weight of everyone else's decisions. What happened next is one of the most remarkable moments in all of Scripture. God did not wait for Hagar to find Him. He went looking for her. He found her near a spring in the desert, spoke to her by name, acknowledged her suffering, and gave her a promise for her future. In response, Hagar did something no one else in Scripture had done quite like this before. She gave God a name: El Roi, meaning the God who sees. She named the well Beer Lahai Roi, the well of the Living One who sees me, so that future generations would know that God…

People in this episode

Host: South Shore Community Church

Topics covered

• God's presence
• Hagar's story
• compassion
• spirituality
• seeing God
• faith

Keywords

• Hagar
• God who sees
• El Roi
• Genesis 16
• spirituality
• compassion
• faith

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Genesis

Places: Egypt

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• Is anything too hard for the Lord? · July 5, 2026 · 35 min
• Walk before me · June 28, 2026 · 44 min
• When you try to help God · June 14, 2026 · 37 min

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