El Roi: The God Who Sees Every Chapter of Your Story

In all the best stories, authors take time to acquaint us with the main character before the plot unfolds. They include seemingly ordinary chapters filled with details about the protagonist's daily life, quirks, and relationships. These chapters, though they might seem trivial at first, give us insight into the heart, mind, and spirit of the hero to be. They tee us up, so to speak, for the greater meaning of the plot that is to come.

As a reader, I deeply connect with these details. I get invested in the personalities of the characters I encounter. My nightly ritual involves reading one chapter of a book before bed. While I often want to devour more, I limit myself to savor the story and prioritize sleep. Still, I find myself lying awake at night, tossing and turning, as my mind lingers on the characters—their personalities, choices, hopes and struggles. It's the little details that captivate me, making the story come alive.

God in the Details

I have many conversations with people about God, especially in the context of my ministry work. One of the most common things I hear is, “God doesn’t really care about ____,” or “God isn’t concerned with that part of my life.” It grieves me every time, because I know from personal experience that the Lord loves to meet us in the intricate details of our stories.

Theology and philosophy are beautiful pursuits that help us understand God intellectually, but they fall flat if they’re not grounded in a lived encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. It’s not just about knowing the truth in an abstract way—it’s about experiencing the truth in the particular moments of our lives. The living, breathing Jesus meets us in the living, breathing details of our days, no matter how small they seem.

On a large scale, it’s easy for me to see Jesus in my story. I have countless tales of God coming through for me in extraordinary ways to reveal to me time and time again the depth of His unconditional love. But when it comes to the smaller, more ordinary details of my daily life, I sometimes doubt His care. I trust God with the big things, but I often assume He’s indifferent to the “boring” moments. I project my short attention span onto the Father, as if He, too, gets distracted or checks out when my life isn’t exciting.

Struggling with My Own Story

As I’ve dived deeper into my story, I’ve often wrestled with frustration and impatience—not just with God, but with myself. There are chapters of my life, both big and small, that I’d rather not revisit. Some reveal my inclinations toward sin, while others expose deep wounds or unanswered questions that seem to make no sense in the context of my life.

If I’m honest, there are parts of my story I’d rather rip out and burn. I want to label them as rough drafts that didn’t make the final cut. Instead of delving into those messy or painful moments, I’d rather ignore them, pretending they never happened.

Yet time and again, Jesus shows me that He is the dedicated reader each of us is waiting for. He is the kind of reader who cannot put our book down. Jesus is the classic bookworm, delighting in every detail of our lives. He doesn’t just glance at the highlights or skim through the chapters He finds interesting. Instead, He cherishes every word, dog-ears the pages, doodles in the margins, and highlights the passages that resonate most deeply with His heart.

Jesus doesn’t shelve our stories, letting them collect dust. He doesn’t read them out of obligation or duty. He lovingly engages with our stories, using every moment to invite us into His own blessed life. Even the chapters we’d rather forget are precious to Him, and He uses them to write something beautiful and redemptive.

The God Who Sees

Even as I write this, my heart longs for that kind of love and attention. Isn’t that what we all want? We desire people in our lives who don’t just witness our stories from a distance but engage with them fully, reverencing and delighting in every detail. We want people who not only see our stories but want to be a part of them.

One of the Hebrew names for God in the Old Testament is El Roi, which means “the God who sees me.” In a world where attention spans are shorter than a TikTok, God’s attention is unwavering. He is deeply focused on each of us, in every moment of every day. He never skips ahead, zones out, or gets annoyed by the tangents. He doesn’t regard the little details of our lives as insignificant or without meaning.

Our God, Adonai El Roi, sees us exactly as we are and where we are. He is intensely interested, profoundly patient, and infinitely kind. The things that matter to you—whether they seem big or small—matter to Him. The things that bother you, bring you joy, or weigh on your heart are important to Him. There is no part of your story He dismisses as useless. Instead, He uses every chapter—yes, even the painful ones—to weave a greater story of redemption and victory for His Kingdom.

A God Who Delights in Us

The next time you’re tempted to think God doesn’t care about the details, remember this: He is El Roi, the God who sees you. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He delights in you, walks with you, and calls you His beloved. Every chapter of your story matters to Him, and He can use it all to bring glory to His name and goodness to your life.

Let Him read your story. Let Him engage with the details. You might just find that His love transforms even the chapters you’d rather not revisit into something beautiful and redemptive.