Hear, Israel: You are now about to cross the Jordan to go in and dispossess nations greater and stronger than you, with large cities that have walls up to the sky. – Deuteronomy 9:1

Today's Scripture Reading (February 25, 2025): Deuteronomy 9

Have you ever wondered if God really sees our problems? Does God know what it is that we are going through, or how big the Giants really are that we have to face in our world? I have said that my favorite name for God is "El Roi." It is an obscure name; in fact, it only occurs once in the entire Bible, and that is in Genesis 16 and the story of Hagar and Ishmael. Hagar has run away from her boss, Sarai (Sarah), because Hagar is being mistreated. As a result, Hagar finds herself in the wilderness. And there, she meets with the God of Abraham. God reminds her that he knows how big the Giants are in her world, but he also wants her to see that he is with her. And while the future of Abram and Sarah might be in his hands, so is the future of Hagar. He has plans for her life and the life of her son. Then Genesis makes this comment; "She [Hagar] gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." You are El Roi, and now I have seen El Roi. 

I need to be reminded that El Roi looks over me. He sees me and the Giants that I am up against. He was, is, and always will be the El Roi, the God who sees me. And that is something that I need to know. 

In about a month, Israel is going to be entering Canaan. It has been thirty-eight years since Israel sent spies into the land. Thirty-eight years have passed since those same spies returned to Moses with a report that said there were giants in the land. There are cities there which are too big and too strong for us to defeat. Because of the reports of the spies, Israel decided not to take the land. The giants were literally too big for Israel to handle. In fact, the giants were too big for even God to handle. 

Thirty-eight years have passed, and Moses comes to Israel and reminds them that nothing has changed. The situation that existed thirty-eight years earlier still exists. The cities are still strong, the giants are still big, and the walls are still high. The time that Israel has spent in the wilderness hasn't changed the original report of the spies. On top of that, the people of Israel are still too weak to take the land. What had changed was that Israel was willing to trust God for a situation beyond them. They knew that they were weak, but he was strong.

It is something that I need to remember. It is the theme of a song written by an unknown author that dates back to the African-American Church of the 1800s and maybe even to a time before the American Civil War. This unknown author wrote:

        I am weak but Thou art strong,

        Jesus keep me from all wrong.

        I'll be satisfied as long as I walk,

        Let me walk close to thee.

It is our confession. For El Roi, a God who sees me, all I need to do is keep walking close to him.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Deuteronomy 10