WHEN NOBODY SEES YOU SUFFOCATING: You can be surrounded by people and still feel unseen

But God Sees You

Song: ”Only Jesus Knows” by Maya Vance

Key Scriptures: 1 Peter 3:12; Genesis 16:13; Psalm 34:17–18; Exodus 3:7

Good morning, my brothers and sisters.

I want to talk to somebody this morning who is carrying something that nobody else can see.

I came across a thought that struck me deeply: “Sometimes I feel like I’m suffocating in the middle of the street, and no one can see me dying.”

Think about that picture for a moment.

You are not hidden in a room.

You are not somewhere by yourself.

You are standing right in the middle of the street.

People are walking past you.

Cars are moving.

Life is happening.

Everybody is going somewhere.

And yet, somehow, nobody sees that you can’t breathe.

That’s what suffering can feel like sometimes.

You can be surrounded by people and still feel alone.

You can go to work and nobody knows.

You can sit in church and nobody knows.

You can answer the telephone and say, “I’m doing fine,” and nobody knows.

 You can laugh.

You can smile.

You can encourage somebody else.

You can even pray for somebody else while you are the one who feels like you’re falling apart.

There are some wounds that don’t bleed where people can see them.

There are some battles that don’t leave visible scars.

And sometimes the hardest part of suffering isn’t simply what you’re going through.

It’s wondering: “Does anybody see what I’m going through?”

But I came with a word for somebody this morning: God sees you.

Not the version of you that everybody else sees.

You.

The tired you.

The hurting you.

The disappointed you.

The frustrated you.

The you who has been trying to hold everything together.

The you who doesn’t know how much longer you can keep saying, “I’m okay.”

God sees that person.

The God Who Sees

In Genesis 16, we meet a woman named Hagar.

Hagar found herself mistreated, hurting, and alone in the wilderness.

And there, in the wilderness, God met her.

After her encounter with the Lord, Hagar gave God a remarkable name.

She said: “You are a God of seeing.” – Genesis 16:13, ESV

In other words: “I thought nobody saw me—but God did.”

Somebody needs that this morning.

People may not understand why you’ve been quiet lately.

God does.

People may not know why you have been crying.

God does.

People may not understand why getting out of bed has taken more strength than usual.

God does.

People may see what you’re doing without having any idea what it is costing you to keep doing it.

But God does.

Hagar discovered something in the wilderness that we must remember in our own wilderness: Being overlooked by people does not mean you have been overlooked by God.

God Doesn’t Just See – God Hears

First Peter 3:12 says: “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer.”

I love that.

His eyes are on you.

And His ears are open to you.

That means God is not merely watching your struggle from a distance.

He’s listening.

He hears the prayer you prayed out loud.

But He also hears the prayer you couldn’t get out.

He hears the prayer that was nothing but tears.

He hears the prayer that consisted of three words: “Lord, help me.”

And sometimes that’s all you’ve got.

You don’t have a sermon.

You don’t have beautiful religious language.

You don’t have a twenty-minute prayer.

All you’ve got is: “Jesus, help me.”

And that’s enough.

Because God doesn’t need eloquence to recognize pain.

God Says, “I Have Seen”

When the children of Israel were suffering under Pharaoh, God said something to Moses in Exodus 3:7: “I have surely seen the affliction of my people.”

Don’t miss those words.

“I have seen.”

God said:

I saw the oppression.

I saw the tears.

I heard the cries.

I know their suffering.

And then God moved.

That’s important because sometimes when we’re hurting, we confuse God’s silence with God’s absence.

They are not the same thing.

Just because God hasn’t moved the way you expected yet doesn’t mean He isn’t present.

Just because the answer hasn’t arrived yet doesn’t mean the prayer wasn’t heard.

And just because you don’t understand what God is doing doesn’t mean God isn’t doing anything.

There are moments when faith has to say: “I don’t see what God is doing, but I believe God sees me.”

When You Feel Like You’re Suffocating

Maybe that’s where somebody listening to me is this morning.

You’re suffocating.

Not physically – but emotionally. Spiritually. Mentally.

Life has been pressing in on you.

Responsibilities.

Family problems.

Financial pressure.

Grief.

Disappointment.

Loneliness.

Betrayal.

Maybe you’ve been strong for everybody else for so long that nobody even thinks to ask whether the strong person needs somebody to be strong for them.

And you find yourself saying: “Lord, does anybody see me?”

Yes.

God sees you.

Psalm 34:17–18 says: “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”

Notice that Scripture doesn’t say God is disgusted with the brokenhearted.

It doesn’t say God is disappointed with the brokenhearted.

It says: “The LORD is near.”

Your brokenness does not drive God away.

It draws His compassionate presence near.

You Don’t Have to Pretend With God

And here’s something else I want you to remember today: You don’t have to perform for God.

You don’t have to pretend you’re stronger than you are.

You don’t have to come into God’s presence wearing the mask you wear around everybody else.

If you’re tired, tell Him you’re tired.

If you’re angry, tell Him you’re angry.

If you’re confused, tell Him you’re confused.

If you’re afraid, tell Him you’re afraid.

If your heart is broken, bring Him the broken pieces.

Because God already knows.

Prayer isn’t informing God about something He doesn’t know.

Prayer is inviting God into what He already sees.

God Sees What People Miss

People see your smile.

God sees the struggle behind it.

People see your accomplishments.

God sees what it cost you to get there.

People see you helping everybody else.

God sees the nights when you needed help yourself.

People see you worshipping.

God sees the tears you wiped away before you walked through the church doors.

People see the outside.

God sees it all.

And here’s the beautiful thing: He sees it all—and He still has you.

Isaiah 41:10 says: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

God says: “I will strengthen you.”

“I will help you.”

“I will uphold you.”

Sometimes you think you’re holding onto God.

But when your strength is gone, you discover something: God has been holding onto you.

Before You Start Your Day

So before you walk into this day, I want you to remember three simple truths:

God sees you.

God hears you.

And God has you.

You may feel invisible to somebody else.

But you’re not invisible to God.

You may feel forgotten by somebody else.

But you’re not forgotten by God.

You may feel like you’re standing in the middle of the street suffocating while the whole world walks past you.

But heaven has not walked past you.

The eyes of the Lord are upon you.

His ears are open to your cry.

His presence is near to your broken heart.

And His hand is still holding you.

So breathe.

Not because everything has suddenly changed.

Breathe because you are not facing it alone.

Take the next step.

Say the next prayer.

Get through the next hour.

And when tomorrow gets here, trust God for tomorrow.

You don’t have to carry next week today.

Jesus said: “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” – Matthew 6:34

So receive today’s grace for today’s battle.

And if nobody else understands what it took for you to get up this morning…

God does.

If nobody else knows about the tears…

God does.

If nobody else recognizes the battle you’re fighting…

God does.

And if you can’t remember anything else I’ve said this morning, remember this: You may feel unseen.
But you are never unseen by God.

God sees you.
God hears you.
God knows you.
God cares about you.
And God has you.

Closing Prayer

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray for the person listening to me right now who feels unseen. Someone is carrying something they haven’t told anybody about. Someone is smiling while hurting. Someone is encouraging everybody else while quietly wondering who is going to encourage them. Someone feels like they’re suffocating in the middle of the street while the world keeps walking past. Lord, remind them today that You see them. You know every tear. You know every disappointment. You know every fear. You know every burden they carried into this morning. Draw near to the brokenhearted. Strengthen the weary. Comfort the grieving. Give peace to the troubled mind. And remind us that when our strength is gone, Your hand is still holding us. Help us walk into this day knowing:

 We are seen.

We are heard.

We are loved.

And we are never alone.

In Jesus’ name, amen.

And my brothers and sisters, carry this with you today: Even when nobody sees the struggle, God sees the struggler. And He has you.