“The God Who Sees” is the name of this photo.  Just like my gear, many of my photos have names, too. 

We planned the timing of a recent trip to Colorado to coincide with the new moon, so the sky would be as dark as possible.  The hope was to capture a photo of the “galactic center” of our galaxy.    

I was crouched down, shooting over the cabin from a tripod very low to the ground.  I sat on my heels and triggered the shutter and waited.  And waited.  Twenty seconds is not a long time, but is sure seems like it when you’re sitting absolutely still waiting for the shutter to close.  When the photo finally popped up on the screen on the back of my camera, I was so excited by what I saw! I did a little dance right there, still sitting on my heels.  In my merriment, I promptly tipped over onto the sharp rocks nearby! I cut the palms of my hands catching myself, but I didn’t even care about that because, glory hallelujah, my camera was still safe and secure on its perch and DID YOU SEE ALL THOSE STARS AND THOSE TWO PLANETS?

And, I guess that’s the point.  No, I don’t typically see all those beautiful, brilliant stars.  Yet, the camera does not lie.  They are there.  All the time they are there.  It reminded me of the passage of Scripture where the Angel of the Lord found a distraught Hagar by a spring in the wilderness and she called him the “God who sees me”.

“She 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.”

Genesis 16:13 (NIV)

God sees us.  All the time, he sees us.

God sees our need for a Savior and in his great mercy he gave us his son Jesus Christ.  Those who believe have eternal life; they have passed from death to life.

God sees our grief and is close to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit.

God sees our defeat and he is a shield around us; he lifts our heads.

God sees our fear and tells us to not be afraid, for he is with us and he will strengthen us.

God sees our anxiety and tells us to pray and he will guard our heart and give us his peace.

God sees the trouble of this world and promised that he has overcome the world.

The God who saw Hagar is the same God who sees me and the same God who sees you.  Just like these amazing stars he created keeping watch over the earth, God keeps watch over us.  He loves us.

I believe we are never truly alone, but sometimes I still feel that way.  It has been a lonely year.  It is during those times that I must remember to refocus and intentionally put myself back in a place where I am able to see God.  And, where do I see him?  I see him in his Holy Scriptures.  Jesus said the scriptures are the very words that testify about him and they cannot be broken. 

I encounter God in the pages of scriptures, in prayer, in his word proclaimed in church, in Holy Communion.  It is through these things that I find my way out of the darkness and into the light.

And, I am thankful.

“In him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

St. John the Apostle, John 1:4-5 (NIV)