TD Jakes - El Roi: God Sees Me (09/23/2020)
God pursued Hagar in the desert not for what was on her but for the destiny inside her; He commands her to stop running, return to the uncomfortable place, face it, and trust El Roi—the God who sees—because her provision, growth, and turnaround are found in the fight, not the flight.
God Hunts for What’s Inside You
He found her because she was carrying destiny. He found her because she was carrying legacy. He found her because she was pregnant with God's plan. He found her because she was pregnant with God's purpose.
When you got legacy down in you, when you got destiny down inside, you may not have no money in your pocket, you may have holes in your shoe, you may have your hair all over your head, but it's not what's on you that matters—it's what's inside of you.
God found her. He found her because she was carrying a part of God's plan and purpose and destiny. And He kept hunting 'til He found her. Do you not know that God is on the hunt for you? He's worse than the CIA. He's worse than the FBI. When God is on the hunt for you, He'll find you.
It's not what's on you—it's what's inside of you. She might've been invisible to everybody else, but she was important to God, because God knew that there was a purpose, even in Sarai's foolishness.
God Works All Things for Good
Only God can take bad mistakes and make 'em work out for good. Only God can take bad choices and make them end up fitting into His plan. We know Romans 8:28—that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord.
I feel like preaching this morning. I said, all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord. The thing might not have been good, but God will work it for good. The thing might have been foolish, but God'll work it for good. The thing might have been crazy, but God will work it for good.
God was working on their behalf, and they didn't even know it. And there Sarai is—she's on the runaway. She's a runaway slave, running away from Sarai, running away from the situation, running away from pain, running away from problems.
You can't run away from problems! If you run away from problems, they'll always catch up with you. God found her. He found her. Stop running. Yeah, stop running.
Stop Running and Face It
Make a note to yourself to stop running. Make a note to yourself to face reality. Make a note to yourself that you cannot cure what you will not confront. Stop running.
I don't care how they threaten you, I don't care how much they intimidate you, I don't care what they say about you—you might as well stand up and face it like a grown woman. You might as well stand up and face it like a grown man, 'cause you'll never succeed running away from what you've got to confront.
God found her. She had to be important for God to search her out. She had to be somebody for God to go on the hunt for her. She had to be somebody for God to send an angel and say, don't stop flying until you find her.
And the Bible said that the angel of the Lord found Hagar and said, "Hagar, what are you doing here?" I want to talk to somebody. What are you doing here? Knowing what you know, having experienced what you have experienced, what are you doing in this desert?
Return to What You Ran From
How did you get to this dry place? How did you get to this place of giving up your prayer life and your consecrated life? What are you doing here that you have reduced yourself down to this level? You know you were not made to be in no desert.
And she says, well, she looks at the angel and said, "I was running away from my mistress." And then the angel delivers this message—he says, "I want you to go back to what you were runnin' from."
Now that is a scary thing. If I was scared enough to run, now you want me to go back to the very thing I was running from? You might as well face it. You might as well stand up to it. It is what it is—it's gonna do what it's gonna do, and it's gonna be what it's gonna be.
You might as well turn around and go back to it. You can't spend the rest of your life running from everything that is uncomfortable.
Your Word: Stop Running
I want to talk to somebody who spent all of your life running from everything that was uncomfortable. As soon as the job got hard, you quit. As soon as that situation got tough, you gave up. As soon as the business got difficult, you gave in. As soon as the marriage ran into conflict, you gave up.
You have been running from stuff all of your life. And your take-away word this Sunday morning is stop running. If I stop right here and don't preach another word, your Word from the Lord is stop running.
You've gone far enough—there's nothing in that desert for you. And God said, stop running. If you keep on running, you'll never be anybody. If you keep on running, you'll never discover your purpose. If you keep on running, you'll never find out who you are in God.
If you keep on running, you'll never understand what you got down inside of you. If you keep on running, you'll always have low self-esteem. If you keep on running, you'll never become what God meant for you to be.
Stand Still and See Salvation
Stop running! Stand still! See the salvation of the Lord! Stand right here and steady yourself. Having done all to stand—stand, therefore, with your loins girded about with truth, broaden your shoulders, strengthen your neck, get your head ready, and say, it is what it is.
And the angel spoke to her and said, stop running. I've never seen a man respect himself if he always ran away. This is past how Sarai feels about you. This is past how Abram feels about you. I'm talkin' about how you feel about yourself.
You'll never respect yourself if you keep quitting. Do you not know that God said, I will heal you from backsliding. I didn't even know backsliding was a disease. God said, I will heal you from backsliding. I will heal you from running. I will heal you from giving up. I will heal you from quitting.
Healing from Backsliding
I will heal you from stopping. I will heal you of always living in almost—I almost did it, I almost finished school, I almost got a degree, I almost bought a house, I almost got married, I almost had a friend, I almost...
God said, I will heal you from backsliding. Incidentally, the word "backsliding" isn't just goin' back—it's really sitting down. Whenever the mule would get stubborn and sit down, his back would be at an angle, and they called it backsliding.
Anytime you sit down on your purpose, anytime you sit down on your destiny, anytime you sit down in the desert and getting ready to die—the desert isn't killing you, it's you sitting down that's killing you.
And the angel told her, stop running—I want you to go back to your mistress.
Happy in the Desert
Now, in my mind, if the angel would've come to me and told me to go back to the very person that I had been running from, I would've been nervous, and I would've been upset, and I would've been afraid, and I would've been uncomfortable.
But instead of being afraid, she got happy. She got happy in the desert. Oh, wait a minute—I want to talk about happy in the desert. She got happy in the desert. You don't have to wait 'til you get to the mansion—you can get happy in the desert.
You don't have to wait 'til all your bills are paid—you can get happy in the desert. The best praise God ever got was a sacrifice of praise. I dare you to praise Him in the middle of your trouble.
I dare you to praise Him in the middle of your problem. I dare you to praise Him in the middle of your storm. I dare you to praise Him when you're up under attack.
A Sacrifice of Praise
I dare you to praise Him while you're waiting on the answer to come. I dare you to praise Him in the middle of your dilemma. I dare you to praise Him without knowing how things are going to end—to stand right still in the middle of the desert and say, I'm gonna praise You right out here in the middle of the desert.
There ain't no praise like a desert praise. Oh, I wish I had some people that were watching me this morning that would give God a desert praise. I don't have no money, but I gotta praise. I'm running out of food, but I gotta praise.
I don't have no job, but I gotta praise. I'm goin' through a crisis, but I gotta praise. See, the devil wants you to cry in the desert, but Hagar got happy in the desert and began to praise her God.
Somebody take a minute and give God a praise in the middle of your desert.
El Roi: The God Who Sees Me
There she is, praising God in the middle of the desert. God always uses people who can praise Him without a crowd. Anybody can praise Him in a crowd. Anybody can praise Him in a better location. Anybody can praise Him with a lot of great music.
But God is looking for somebody who can praise Him in isolation—without an Amen, all by yourself. And she wasn't just praising Him just to be praising Him. She was praising Him because she said, El Roi.
El Roi is a Hebrew word that means "God sees me". For somebody who's never been seen, for somebody who's always been overlooked, for somebody who's never been regarded—there's a joy when you think about, God sees me.
There she is in the desert—she hadn't eaten yet. And yet she's praising God, just because He sees her. The Lord sent me here to tell you this Sunday morning, I see you. I see you.
God Sees You
I know you don't have any money, but I see you. I know you don't have no title, but I see you. I know you've been through a lot of haters, but I see you. I know you've made some bad mistakes, but God said, I see you.
Do you know what it is to get God's attention? To know that God is mindful of me. What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him? God wants you to know, I see you.
Abram might not see you, Sarai may not see you, your circumstances may not honor you, but God sees you. She said, El Roi. El Roi. El Roi.
I want you to write that down. El Roi. I want you to put it on your computer. El Roi. I want you to add it into your praise language. El Roi. El Roi.
Declare El Roi
Devil, you can't do whatever you wanna do because El Roi. Enemy, you cannot have my body because El Roi. I will not be a skeleton because El Roi. I will not be a carcass in the desert because El Roi.
The buzzards will not eat up my flesh because El Roi. I will not come to a negative end because El Roi. I will not die in my desert because El Roi.
Somebody's in a desert right now, and the devil's been telling you, this is all you are, this is what you deserve, this is all you're ever gonna be, where you are is as far as you go.
But you put your hands on your hips and look the devil right in the face and say, El Roi. Yes! El Roi. God sees right where I am, God knows right where I am, God knows what I'm goin' through.
God sees how I feel, God sees what's happening in my life. God! God sees me! God sees me. God sees me. God sees me.
A Turnaround Is Coming
She threw her hands up and said, El Roi—God sees me! I must be somebody. Oww! I must be somebody, El Roi. I must have some value, El Roi. I must have a purpose, El Roi. I must be in the plan, El Roi.
Shout yes! Shout yes! Shout yes! Shout yes! El Roi. Working a part-time job, but El Roi. Flipping burgers at a burger shop, but El Roi. Living off of unemployment, but El Roi.
Body is racked with pain, but El Roi. Work double shifts for two weeks, but El Roi. Husband walked out the door, but El Roi. Wife don't care nothin' about me, but El Roi.
God! God! God sees you. He sees you. He sees what's in you. He sees what you shall be.
Provision in the Place of Discomfort
And they begin to prophesy to that old girl, and they told her, you're gonna bring forth a child—his name shall be called Ishmael. Said he will be a wild man, his hands shall be against all men, and all men shall be against him, but out of him shall come a great nation.
How can greatness come out of weakness? How can greatness come out of despair? How can greatness come out of disappointment? How can greatness come out of heartache? I'll tell ya how—El Roi.
If God sees you, they may mean it for evil, but He'll make it work out good. If God sees you, you might be in a weak place, but God will bring greatness out of your life. El Roi.
Now, she's on her way back. Good God Almighty! The woman who was running this way has had an encounter with God that made her do a 180. I feel a turnaround.
Somebody oughta do a 180 right into your house. God's about to turn some things around. What you was runnin' from, you getting ready to run to. God's gonna do a 180.
You don't want a 360, 'cause a 360'll take you back where you were. You need a 180. God's gonna give you a complete turnaround.
Your Provision Is in the Fight
And here comes Hagar back down the road. The angel told her, there is no provision for you on the run—the provision is in the fight. There is no provision for you on the run—the provision is in the fight.
Stop running from the fight, and turn around and go back home, because I have put your provisions in the house of Sarai. That's why the enemy's trying to run you out—because your provisions are right there, and it's only a matter of time until you see God provide for you.
But the problem is, you have gotten out of place. You left it because it was tough. You left it because it was hard. You left it because it hurt your feelings. You left it because you weren't recognized.
You left it because you weren't appreciated. You left it because it got difficult. You left it because it was complicated. You left it because it wasn't easy. You left it because it made you cry.
God Provides in Trouble
But what you don't understand is that God is providing for you in trouble. You didn't hear me. God is providing for you in trouble. The Bible said that God is a present help in trouble.
If you run from the trouble, you're running from God. If you run from the trouble, you're running from your provisions, because God puts your provisions in a place of trouble and discomfort and distress.
God puts your promised land behind the walls of Jericho. God puts your blessing in the hands of somebody who has lost appreciation for you.
And even though the atmosphere does not feel anointed, even though the atmosphere does not feel conducive, even though the atmosphere is not what you had in mind—God said, I put your bread there, I put your water there, I put your blessing there.
And you're never going to get what I provided for you until you go back to the place of discomfort.
Discomfort Is Your Growing Place
The place of discomfort is your growing place. The place of discomfort is your strengthening place. The place of discomfort is your place of provision.
When Abraham carried Isaac up on Mount Moriah, and he said, Jehovah-Jireh—it was in a place of discomfort that he discovered his provision. God will provide the ram, but you gotta come with the sacrifice.
Until you are willing to raise your life up and slay your flesh, you will not see the provision of God. What do you mean, slay your flesh? Slay your pride, slay your arrogance, slay the fact that you are used to being spoiled and pampered and getting your way.
And God said, turn around and go back. The God El Roi, who sees you, wants you to go back to the woman who acts like she don't. And Hagar is happy to go where she was once runnin' from—only because now she knew, El Roi. God sees me.