Finding ghost crabs on the beach at night requires a powerful flashlight.
By day, North Carolina’s sandy shores are filled with people enjoying the sunshine and the ocean’s waves. At night, everything’s dark and quiet. The true beach-dwellers slip out of their holes and scuttle toward the water. Hit with a powerful light, the ghost crabs flee—either toward the surf or back into their burrows. On most nights, you see only a few, but our Creator sees each one. Just as He sees each one of us.
In Genesis 16, an Egyptian slave named Hagar fled from her mistress. Pregnant and friendless, she walked through a wilderness filled with pain. Grieving for her lost comfortable life, Hagar felt isolated and unloved—until God called her by name.
Even a slave girl’s tears matter to the Lord. Encountering the angel changed Hagar forever. He spoke words of life and hope into her aching heart. I love the name Hagar gives to the Almighty: “You are the God who sees me.”
God is the One who cares. He is the One who loves me when I feel defeated, crushed, and broken. He is the One who walks with me in my darkest hours.
We live in a society where people aren’t highly valued. Old folks languish in nursing homes—lonely and unloved and with few visitors. Unwanted babies are aborted. Spouses are kicked to the curb and replaced with someone new. Rampant cyber-bullying makes teenagers feel despised by their peers. Even pre-teens battle depression and suicidal thoughts.
Life in the world has gotten incredibly tough lately. But let me give you a word of encouragement. Jesus our Redeemer sees you and He knows you by name. You may be an “insignificant little crab” to anyone else, but not to Him.
Like Hagar, rejoice and be comforted because you serve the One who sees you.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Maureen Hall Puccini writes devotions and posts weekly on her new blog, “The Faithful Wanderer” (http://www.thefaithfulwanderer.org). She enjoys illustrating spiritual truths by sharing about Victorian lamplighters, penguins, and personal snow skiing mishaps. She and her husband, Ralph, live in Raleigh, NC. Contact Maureen at mhpuccini@gmail.com.