Proverbs 15.3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good. (NKJV)
The Lord is looking at you this very moment. What is your immediate reaction to this? Do you see eyes of severity, condemnation or chastisement? Or do you envision gentle eyes of love and patience, pleased with what they see? Your initial reaction should be very revealing about the condition of your spiritual life. Stop for a moment and take a few seconds to meditate on this.
The reality that the Lord is everywhere, watching every thing, has two sides from our perspective (yet even the “negative” side is positive in reality):
- Positive: The Lord sees all the good work, sacrifice and love we offer in His Name no matter if anyone else notices or not.
- Negative: The Lord sees all wickedness: spoken or not, secret or not, public or private… all of it.
The eyes of the Lord are in EVERY place.
They see EVERY thing.
Psalm 139.7-8 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your Presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. (NKJV, emphasis mine)
No matter what type of life we lead, no matter how holy, no matter how sinful, the Lord sees it all. We cannot deceive Him, divert Him or in any way distort the absolute truth of our life. We may even convince ourselves that we are something we are not (Jer 17.9), but God stills sees us exactly as we are. There is no place, no time, no action, no thought or motive that is veiled from His gaze.
There are four versions of you:
- who you think you are
- who other people think you are
- who you think other people think you are
- and who God knows you REALLY are because nothing is hidden from Him: no motive, no attitude, no intention.
Even if we are successful in deceiving our self, the Lord sees absolutely all. What effect does that have on your daily life?
- Encouragement and motivation
- Be encouraged and draw strength from the fact that the Lord’s eyes see every good work and every act of love. No matter how unnoticed, how un-thanked or how ungrateful others may be, take heart that God sees it all and will not forgot even one act of selfless service no matter how trivial.
Gal 6.9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. - God saw those hours you spent last week helping the widow that lives across the street.
- The Lord was watching when you gave up your golf last Saturday to spend time with a fatherless boy.
- He was watching when you lost that promotion at work because you refused to bend the rules a little.
- He sees you every week when you clean the bathrooms at the church so the money that used to be spent on a janitor is now being sent to a missionary.
- Jesus knows about you buying bargain clothes for yourself so you could help that church in Pakistan where most of them struggle to have any clothes at all.
- God is observing you endure the criticism at work for taking a stand against the wickedness that is going on.
- The Lord sees the time you spend every week praying and preparing for your kids in your Sunday school class even while you patiently endure griping from one of the kid’s parents.
- Be encouraged and draw strength from the fact that the Lord’s eyes see every good work and every act of love. No matter how unnoticed, how un-thanked or how ungrateful others may be, take heart that God sees it all and will not forgot even one act of selfless service no matter how trivial.
- Accountability and deterrence
- The Lord’s eyes are everywhere… this should strike fear in our hearts when it comes to our sinfulness. In the same way that no good thing escapes His eye, neither does a single sin. This fact should very effectively help us to say “no” to sin, to avoid tempting situations and to be convicted very quickly when we do fail.
- The Lord sees your true motives behind that “news” you just shared with someone “so they could pray” for the situation
- God sees in technicolor the lust in your heart towards that co-worker or person that just walked by.
- You know that thing you keep doing over and over, you know… yeah, that thing. The Lord’s eyes sadly sees that too, every time you do it.
- God sees those numbers you are writing down on that tax return.
- Jesus is watching you “privately” complain again about your boss, your church, your life.
The Lord’s eyes are in every place watching both good and evil. Tell yourself that many times a day. Cultivate a lifestyle and a spiritual alertness that contemplates the reality and the effect of knowing that God’s eyes are always watching. It is both a fearsome and terrible thing to the wicked… and yet a source of great strength and comfort for the holy.
Let the Lord’s constant gaze help keep you from sin. Let it encourage and strengthen you when you do good that goes unnoticed.
Father, give us true understanding that You are watching and we cannot escape Your gaze anywhere, at any time. Let this fact embarrass and convict us when we contemplate sin; and let it encourage and strengthen us when we serve selflessly. Let us understand both the Eyes of Love, and the Eyes of Conviction. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Contemplation: Do you understand this truth about God’s watchful eyes? Why do you suppose you still so easily sin if you believe He’s watching? Do you ever feel unappreciated and unnoticed? Did God look away and somehow not see your effort?
Application: God is watching. This can be scary or comforting. Imagine a police officer watching you. If you’re stealing something, how do you feel? If he’s protecting you in dangerous situation, how do you feel about his watchful gaze? Our reaction to God’s eyes will reveal much about the condition of our Christian walk.
- What is the most obvious Bible truth you have learned today?
- What change in your life needs to be made concerning this truth?
- What specific thing will you do today to begin that change?