Continuing my 2020 Lenten Journey- with personal thoughts and commentary by Martha McDuff Wiggins on the book “Lord I Want To Know You” by Kay Arthur.
El Roi, The God Who Sees
Day 10
“Where can I go from Thy Spirit? Or where can I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend to heaven, Thou Art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou Art there. If I take the wings of dawn, if I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right hand will lay hold of me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night,’ even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee. (Psalm 139:7-12)
El Roi is the God Who Sees. Nothing can escape His knowing about it, nothing can be hidden from Him. He sees all, both good and evil. The verses from Psalm 139 can be both comforting and disconcerting at the same time. If you live in the dark fearing the light because of things that happened to you in your past, that were out of your control, then El Roi is the God for you. Maybe you were abused as a child, physically, emotionally, or even both. Maybe you were unloved or abandoned by a parent, a spouse, or even your own child. Maybe you have have locked certain memories away and try hard to keep them there on a daily basis. You may also have gotten some professional help to deal with the pain, the rejection, the bewilderment of it all. However, you may never have reasoned out the why of it all, or come to terms about it with God. Maybe you hide in the darkness, weary and afraid. You have probably asked in your heart a thousand times why a God who loves you would permit such things to happen. That’s a very difficult question to answer.
Kay Arthur offers her thoughts. Directly quoting from the book…
“God saw it. He knows the sin that was committed against you. And someday He will vindicate you. There is forgiveness, but to those who refuse to receive the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, there is also a day of judgment. And it will be a righteous judgment, for God saw it all.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)
Continuing in the book… “After you realize that He sees, you need to know that in His sovereignty He permitted it. Therefore, as horrible and as destructive as it seems, in God’s economy it will be used for good if you will but know Him, believe Him, and put your trust in His name, for He does not forsake those who seek Him.” (Psalm 9:10)
Talk about hard to hear words! I have never suffered the kind of abuse or abandonment mentioned. All I can do is share my thoughts on it in relation to this name of God, El Roi, The God Who Sees. I find three very important truths worth repeating to hopefully help in understanding it at all.
First, He saw it all.
He didn’t stop it from happening, but He was there suffering with you through it all. He cried with you and He wept for the sin committed against you. It was not your fault, yet you bear the burden of the lifelong scars. The blame, all of the blame, lies with the sinner who exercised his or her free will to perpetrate evil. Again, none of the blame is yours; not one thing you did, or didn’t do; not one thing you said, or didn’t say, caused it to happen. El Roi knows this.
Second, He permitted it to happen.
This truth is exceptionally hard to hear. In our human way of thinking, it is also exceptionally hard to explain and defend. But, El Roi, The God Who Sees, has a viewpoint, a vantage point,that we don’t. He can see the past, present, and the future of everything that happens in the universe. He sees the big picture of how everything works together. As difficult as it may personally be, He asks us to trust in His name, to believe that He will use what happened for our own personal good, and the good of all. A sinner’s free will interrupted His plan for good, but El Roi, The God Who Sees, will reroute His plan, and His Goodness for your life will prevail.
Third, you will be vindicated.
As hard as the first two truths above were to hear and process in our heart, this truth is easy to understand and is welcomed in our heart. As a believer, a child of God who knows His name, you will be vindicated on the day of final judgment! He saw it all and He remembers every last detail. The sinner, the perpetrator of the evil that befell you, will stand before El Roi. He will have to hear and see every detail of his sin against you and God. He will then be righteously sentenced and punished. In other words, El Roi, The God Who Sees has got your back!
Tomorrow we will learn about a different set of life circumstances in which we can also call upon El Roi, The God Who Sees.
Mental action to facilitate your Lenten Journey:
If anything here in Day 10 rings true for you, know that you are not alone. Pray to see it in the Light of El Roi’s Eyes. Claim His truths for your own situation. 🙏🏻💖
Further action if so inclined:
If nothing in Day 10 rings true for you, it may for someone you know. Either way, if you know someone who would benefit from knowing these truths, please reach out to them. Share it with them either by messaging or a real face to face conversation. Resist the urge to control, influence, or manipulate the outcome. Leave all in His all seeing, all knowing eyes. He will work all to the good. 🙏🏻😇
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