Written by: Leia Marie
There are seasons when life doesn’t just feel hard, it feels relentless.
You fight through one battle and before you can even breathe, three more rise up. You solve one problem and another replaces it. You gather the courage to reach out for help, which costs you pride and vulnerability, and you’re met with silence. Or indifference. Or empty words.
And after a while, discouragement settles in.
You start wondering:
Is it always going to be like this?
Am I doing something wrong?
Does anyone actually see how hard I’m trying?
There is a woman in Scripture who asked a similar question without using those words.
Hagar. She was alone, used, discarded, and pregnant. Sent away into the wilderness. No safety net. No plan. No visible future.
And in the desert, when she believed no one saw her, God sought her out and met her. And she gave Him a name there, “El Roi” (El – Rawee), the God Who Sees Me. (Genesis 16:13)
Not the God who avoids. Not the God who is distant. But the God who sees. And He sees you.
If you are exhausted from fighting what feels like insurmountable odds, hear this clearly:
God sees you. He sees the effort no one applauds. He sees the tears you try to hide. He sees and hears the prayers you whisper when you feel foolish for hoping again.
Now here is the part that may stretch you:
Sometimes the exhaustion is not only from the weight of life, but it’s from carrying expectations God never asked you to carry.
We expect progress to look linear.
We expect relief to come quickly.
We expect help to show up in obvious ways.
We expect fairness.
And when those expectations collapse, we feel betrayed.
Submission is not passive defeat. Submission is releasing your timeline, your version of “should,” your picture of how it must unfold and instead saying:
“Lord, I trust You more than I trust my interpretation of this moment.”
That is not weakness. That is strength in surrender.
But this devotion is not only about enduring hardship. It is also about becoming the kind of people who refuse to let others stand alone.
Paul wrote:
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
Nothing.
Not impressive.
Not spiritual.
Not successful.
Without love, we are nothing.
We are called to be the family of God.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called the children of God! And that is what we are!” – 1st John 3:1
Family notices. Family shows up. Family carries weight together.
“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6:10
It is not always comfortable. It is rarely convenient. And it is often unseen. But when you can meet a need, meet it. When you can encourage, encourage. When you can serve, serve.
Be the hands. Be the feet. Be the heart of Jesus.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35
Are we, the children of God, known for the way we love one another, the way we love others?
If you are the one in the valley right now, know that you are not alone. There are hearts that care. There are believers who see. And above all, there is El Roi, the God who sees you in the wilderness.
You may not understand why the battles feel relentless. But you are not fighting unseen. And you are not fighting alone.
Trust Him. Release your expectations. Love fiercely.
Stay connected to Him.
And remember:
The God who sees you is also shaping you.
Reflection Questions:
For the One Walking Through Great Hardship
- What expectations about how your life “should” look right now might God be gently asking you to release?
- Where have you felt unseen or unsupported, and can you bring that specific place honestly before El Roi, the God who sees you?
- If God is shaping something in you through this season, what qualities might He be strengthening: perseverance, humility, compassion, endurance?
For the One Being Called to Serve
- Is there someone in your life right now who may feel alone or overwhelmed? How could you practically show up for them this week?
- Have you ever been so focused on your own pressures that you overlooked someone else’s quiet struggle?
- Where might God be inviting you to love or serve in a way that is unseen, inconvenient, or unrecognized, but deeply needed?
Closing Prayer:
Father God,
You are El Roi, the God who sees us.
You see the weary heart.
You see the silent battles.
You see the effort no one else notices.
For the one who feels overwhelmed, steady them.
Help them release expectations that are crushing their spirit.
Strengthen them to trust You when progress feels invisible.
And for those of us who are called to stand beside others, soften our hearts.
Open our eyes to the needs around us.
Teach us to love with action, not just words.
Make us a true family that walks together, that carries one another, serves one another.
May we be a family that reflects the heart of Jesus in real and tangible ways.
Give us courage to trust You.
Give us compassion and commitment to love well.
And remind us that none of us walks alone.
In Jesus’ faithful and steady name,
Amen.
