Misunderstood Motherhood: Hagar

What happens when a woman feels unseen by the people around her…but deeply seen by God?

Used by others and pushed aside, Hagar runs into the desert carrying pain, fear, and uncertainty. But instead of abandoning her there, God meets her in the middle of it—and reveals Himself as El Roi: “The God who sees me.”

This episode is for the woman who feels overlooked, emotionally exhausted, unseen in her own story, or quietly carrying more than anyone realizes.

✨ You may feel unseen by people… but you are fully seen by God.

Inspired by The Most Misunderstood Women of the Bible and woven with themes from The Mothers, this conversation explores motherhood, identity, healing, and the powerful truth that God meets us even in the wilderness.

Transcript

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Hi, and welcome back to The Right Voice. I'm your host Jessica, and as always, I'm so glad you're here. Last week, we started the series Misunderstood Motherhood with Eve, the woman we've often blamed for everything going wrong. And we talked about what it feels like to be defined by one moment. But this week, we're stepping into a different kind of story. Not the weight of one mistake, but the ache of being unseen. So we'll start with the question of reflection. Have you ever felt like you were part of someone's life, but not really part of their heart? Like you were needed, but not valued. Your presence was useful, but your personhood wasn't fully seen. There's a kind of loneliness that doesn't come from being alone. It comes from being surrounded but still invisible. In the novel The Mothers, women are discussed as being known about, but not truly known. Their stories and choices are analyzed, but their hearts, their pain, their humanity? Well, it's seemingly often overlooked. And some of us know that feeling more than we want to admit. Let's step into Hagar's story. In Genesis 16, we meet her as an Egyptian servant to Sarah. And she's not there by choice. She enters the story through someone else's decision. Sarah, unable to conceive, gives Hagar to Abraham, so she can bear a child on her behalf. Hagar is used to fulfill a plan that wasn't hers. And when she becomes pregnant, everything shifts. Tension rises and jealousy grows. And Scripture says in Genesis 16, 6, then Siri mistreated Hagar, so she fled from her. And she runs, not towards a place of freedom, but because she's hurting. And this is where the dynamic of the story changes. There isn't a shift in the home or a place where things are resolved. The change comes in the wilderness. Genesis 16 7 says, The angel of the Lord found Hagar, nearest spring in the desert. Found her. And I love that word because it implies something important. She wasn't lost to God. Even if she felt lost in her circumstances, God meets her there. In the middle of her confusion and pain and displacement and exhaustion, he doesn't wait for her to return. He goes to her. This is the moment where something spectacular happens. After this encounter, Hagar does something that no one else in scripture is recorded doing. She names God. Genesis 16 13. She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her. You are the God who sees me. And in Hebrew this is El Roy, the God who sees. So let's think about this for a moment. A servant, a woman with no power in her story, a woman who is used and pushed out, is the one who gives us this name for God. And she says something else that matters just as much. I have now seen the one who sees me. This isn't just theology. It's personal. This is I was invisible. And now I know I'm not. Let's hold the tension again. The world says you're replaceable, you're secondary, you're just part of someone else's story. But God says, I see you, I find you, I speak to you directly. The world uses God encounters. The world overlooks. God names and affirms. And here's where it gets real. Because maybe you're not in the wilderness physically, but maybe you feel it emotionally. Maybe you've been overlooked in your relationships or taken for granted, valued more for what you can do rather than who you are. Maybe you carried things in silence because no one has really stopped to ask. And maybe part of you wonders, does anyone actually see me? God doesn't interact with you based on your role in someone else's story. He sees you as the center of your own. In the wilderness, which means he meets you in the middle, in the uncertainty and the not yet resolved parts of life. Hagar was used, she was mistreated, she was pushed out, and still God found her. And maybe that's what you need to hear today. Right here in this moment, and nothing has to make sense. You may feel unseen by people, but you are fully seen by God. Next week we'll talk about Tamar, the woman who refused to disappear. And until then, be gentle with your story. Even in the wilderness, you're not invisible. Meet you here next week. Take care.