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Today the message is about a young woman called Hagar.
Hagar was born in Egypt. She was an Egyptian. She was a slave.
Hagar often felt she was invisible, as if no one saw her and no one saw what she was suffering.
Hagar was a slave in the household of Abram and Sarai. She was Sarai's personal slave.
God had promised Abram he would be the father of a great nation, but he was an old man, and his wife Sarai was an old woman and they had no children.
Sarai said to Abram, ‘take my slave woman Hagar and make her pregnant and I will make her child my child and then you will have a son.
Hagar had no choice about this. There was nothing she could do because she was a slave. She couldn’t say no to Abram.
So, Abram took Hagar and made her pregnant, but Sarai regretted what she had done. No doubt the two women were jealous of one another. Hagar was jealous of Sarai because of her status and power as Abram’s wife and Sarai was jealous of Hagar because she was young and expecting Abram’s child.
Sarai complained to Abram about Hagar and Abram said to her, ‘she is your slave, you can do what you want with her.’
So, Sarai abused Hagar and treated her very badly. Eventually Hagar ran away. She ran into the wilderness. Hagar ran into the wilderness and when she rested at a place where there was a spring of water she was surprised by God.
God met with Hagar and spoke to her through an angel.
When the book of Genesis describes angels, it is another way of describing the presence of God himself. Hagar knew she was meeting with God.
God asks Hagar, ‘Where have you come from and where are you going?’
I wonder if you have ever asked ‘why does God ask questions like this when he already knows the answer. God knew where Hagar was coming from and God knew where Hagar was going, so why does God ask her.
I believe God asked her because sometimes we need to be honest with God, to open our hearts and be honest with God, to open our hearts and share our fears and our failures with God, to share our sorrow and our pain with God, to be honest with God.
And we can do that because God has broad shoulders. We can do that because God is not a stranger but is closer than the air we breathe. God is waiting and listening and wanting us to speak to him.
And if we are willing to listen God is always speaking.
When Hagar listened she heard God telling her to return to Sarai. This wasn’t an easy thing to do but God also made her a promise. He promised her a son and told her to name him Ishmael because God heard her when she was calling for help.
God heard her when she needed help. In Hebrew, the name Ishmeal sounds like ‘God hears.
God heard Hagar. 
Hagar was heard.
And more than that
God saw Hagar.
Hagar was amazed by her experience of God and she does something remarkable. She is the is the first person in the bible who names God. Hagar calls him ‘El Roi’ the God who sees me.
Hagar discovered she wasn’t invisible. Hagar discovered her suffering wasn’t invisible. God saw her and when God saw her, Hagar discovered she wasn’t a nobody. When God saw her Hagar discovered she was somebody.
This isn’t the end of Hagar’s story and there are many more things that could be said about her.
Today I want you to remember that this woman who was only a slave met God. Even though she was a nobody, she is somebody and that she was the first person to give God a name. ‘The God who sees me’.
God sees you. In Psalm 139 we are told that God looks deep into our hearts and knows us completely He knows everywhere we go and every word we speak. As one of our songs says, ‘to you all hearts are open for nothing here is hidden.’
And God says you are somebody.
All of us will have experienced moments when we feel invisible, as if no one sees us, as if no one who really understands us or ‘gets us, moments when we feel as if we are a nobody. But God sees you, loves you and cherishes you. You are somebody.
That’s what people discovered when they met Jesus. The gospels are full of people who were surprised that Jesus saw them.
The women at the well in the heat of the midday sun was surprised that Jesus spoke to her, but when she told other people about him, she said, ‘come and meet the man who told me everything I have done.’
When Nathaniel was at home, he was surprised by the words of Jesus who seemed to know him so well. When he asked, ‘How do you know me.’ Jesus replied, ‘I saw you before your friend even called your name.’
When a woman who losing blood touched the clothes Jesus was wearing, as he passed by, she thought he wouldn’t notice, but he noticed.  Even though she was trembling with fear he spoke words of kindness he said, ‘your faith has healed you, go in peace.’
When a tax gatherer people hated climbed a sycamore tree in Jericho, so he could see Jesus over the heads of the crowds, Jesus surprised him and saw him and said, ‘come down from the tree because today I am coming to your house.’
God sees you. If you want to talk with me about how you can see Jesus more clearly, love Jesus more dearly, follow Jesus more nearly, if you feel invisible and want to know that God sees you then do come and talk with me.
We are not invisible. Sometimes our situation doesn’t seem to change when we start talking with God. That can be hard and we wonder if God is listening, but Hagar knew God listens, that God hears.
Sometimes our situation doesn’t see to change when we start talking with God, but change is coming because God see us when we call on him.
Hagar’s situation didn’t change at first, she had to return to Sarai and Sarai’s attitude didn’t change but Hagar had changed. Hagar knew that she was somebody because she knew that God listens, and she knew God sees her.
Change begins with you and change begins within you. Change begins when you can stand tall and say I am somebody, because we are not invisible.
I encourage you to go on asking, to go on trusting, to go on seeking God, knowing that God hears and God sees you.