The God who sees me

Read this edition online.

‘… he will be called: Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9:6). This prophecy from Isaiah is one of my favourite poems from Scripture. It's a moving description of Jesus our Saviour, whose presence fills the earth. His dominion is vast, yet he can heal the smallest heart. His compassion floods every corner of the earth. This is Jesus. This is our God.

Perhaps the most beautiful gift that Jesus gives us is intimacy with God. It reminds me of another name given to God. Hagar was a run-away slave—the most powerless of all people—mistreated by Sarai and Abram. Pregnant with Abram’s child and disgraced, she was forced to flee to the desert. There, an angel found her. And Hagar did something extraordinary: she had the audacity to give God a new name—‘the God who sees me’ (Genesis 16:13).

If your heart is troubled during this Christmas, God is with you. Let this special edition of War Cry be a time for you and Jesus. The cover is designed to colour in, so you can take time to soak in the colours of Christmas. Take yourself back to the first nativity, and discover how God is always with the outsider. Read Diana’s story, of a Jesus who counsels our heart. Share the children’s nativity with your whānau.

Know that this Christmas, God sees you. You are loved.

Ingrid Barratt
Editor

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Ihāia 9:6
Kua whānau nei hoki he tamaiti mā tātou, kua hōmai he tama ki a tātou; ā ki runga ki tōna pokohiwi te rangatiratanga; nā, ko te ingoa e huaina ki a ia ko Whakamīharo, ko Kaiwhakatakoto Whakaaro, ko te Atua Kaha Rawa, ko te Matua Mutungakore, ko t e Rangatira o te Rongomau.