We live in a surveillance society and we are at times comforted and disturbed by this. Is it a comforting or a disturbing fact that God has such remarkable eyesight that He never misses anything, ever?
Isaiah 29:15: “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in the darkness and think, “Who sees? Who will know?”
Nothing can be hidden from God. Unless it is dealt with, there will come a day when God, who has seen all our sin will judge it all.
God is a God of justice who wants to see justice done. Because God sees everything we can trust Him as our judge. He sees not only actions but motives, not only deeds of the moment but the history that built up to it. He sees not only what we have done but what has been done to us. When he does declare us guilty, that verdict is not His final word, there are other words that He offers to speak over us, such as forgiven, healed, redeemed or restored.
The all seeing eye of God is not something to fear but to trust. Genesis 16:1-16
Whilst waiting for God to fulfil his promise that Abraham and Sarai would have a son Abraham had a son by his wife’s slave Hagar. Instead of this being a solution it caused tension. Hagar ran away. In the desert God came to this desperate and lonely woman.
Hagar finds a new name for God. She calls Him; “The Living One who sees me”. Rather than this terrifying Hagar, it gave her the strength to go back and face the situation she had run away from.
Hagar was bullied by Sarah. Bullying is so often done so subtly. It seems to happen when no one else is there to defend us.
Hagar tried to escape her but God’s angel would not let her hide or deny what had happened, “Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?” (v8)
God already sees our past but he will often take us back to acknowledge the pain and look at it again but this time through His perspective.
The angel’s second question is also vital, “Where are you going?”
Hagar knew what she was running away from but she had no idea where she was heading. But God could see and God knew and then instructed her to trust Him and go back so that she could have a future.
This story also shows us the possibility of our own eyes being opened. Hagar said, “I have now seen the One who sees me.”
It is great to be the object of someone’s care. It is even better to know that you are.
2. THE SEARCHING EYE OF GOD
2 Chronicles 16:9: “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”
Every day, God watches out for an opportunity to do a great thing for us when our hearts are devoted to him.
In 2 Chronicles 16 Asa had defeated the Ethiopians in open battle but he now he sought only a human solution to his problems by making alliances with pagan nations. When confronted by the prophet Hanani about is rebellion Asa threw him in prison and began to oppress his own people.
It is not sin to use human means to solve our problems but it is sin to trust them more than God. Instead of there being commitment in his heart there was rebellion. And that is serious.
When Samuel confronted King Saul about his rebellion he used strong words, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”
Now not many of us would contemplate getting involved in witchcraft but how many of us can say that there have not been times when we have kicked against God’s way in our life and stubbornly refused to accept His will or do it?
God is looking for people with a right heart attitude. God can do great things through those whose heart is right
1 Corinthians 2:9: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
God begins to work in our lives at the level of our hearts. The heart is the place of conscious decision making, the place of spiritual activity. Our hearts are our personality as a whole. It’s our desires, our passions and our will. It is where God meets us.
God is not impressed with externals. It’s possible to be religious and devout on the outside, and to be hollow and empty spiritually inside.
Psalm 139:23-24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties. See if there is any wicked way in me annd lead me in the way everlasting.”
God’s eyes are moving back and forth across the earth looking not only for individuals to bless but for congregations of His people that are fully committed to Him. The most important characteristic of a God-blessed church is a passionate unquenchable love for God and when God finds that He blesses and He strengthens.
3. THE GUIDING EYE OF GOD
Psalm 32: 8:“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you”.
The AV translates this as “I will guide thee with mine eye.”
v9: “Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you”.
When our children are small we often need to put them on reins because they may not understand the instruction to stop at the kerb, look both ways etc. As they grow older they are given more freedom. Perhaps they are allowed to walk to school alone, but the parent stands at the gate and when they are given the nod, they can cross the busy main road.
Or the contrast could be a puppy that must be taken out on a lead, with the sheep-dog, who only needs a signal from the shepherd to perform the complicated task of rounding up the correct number of sheep into a pen.
God does not want to bark instructions at us or have to force us to do His bidding. God wants a people who know Him well enough to move at His slightest urging. He wants us to have that kind of rapport that is there between people who work closely together, for whom a glance is enough.
Half of the time though we may not even be looking in His direction. We really do need to turn our eyes toward Jesus.
Proverbs 3:5-6: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”.
Many believers do not spend enough time in God’s presence to know Him in this way. Instead they go about their business and don't know what it is their trusted leader would have them do.
God bless
Alan
Going deeper:
In what ways has God’s watchful presence been comforting or disturbing to you?
What stands out for you in the story of Hagar?
How would you answer if God were to ask you, “Where have you been and where are you going?
How assured are you that we are the apple of God’s eye?
What example could you give of God’s guidance in your life?
Where do you feel you are in relation to your sensitivity to God’s will?
No comments:
Post a Comment