Jump Start # 2762

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”

This verse reminds me of the little song we teach children in Bible classes, “Be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above, is looking down in love.” God sees. His eyes are in every place.

So many valuable lessons for us here:

First, this reminds us that we are never alone. We may be by ourselves, yet God sees us. God is never far away. There is never a place that God cannot see us. What comfort and hope that ought to bring us. You can come home from a hard day at work and try to explain things to your spouse, but he or she often doesn’t get it. God does. His eyes are in every place.

Second, there are things that God sees that disappoints Him. We are made to honor God in our lives. Many do not do that. Day in and day out, they live for self and that much too often revolves are the things that are sinful and wrong. God sees. God watches the evil. We could do better but some don’t. God opens doors, sends blessings from Heaven and grants us ability and talent and too often those gifts from Heaven are only used to further rebellion and sinful lifestyles. This also reminds us that there is no getting away with murder, not with God. He sees. He knows. We can look this way and then that way and think the way is clear. But we fail to look up. God knows what you have done.

Third, God also sees the good that is done. There is no need to keep an accounting of that. There is no need to tell God. He already knows. He sees the good. Sometimes the good that is done is not followed with a thankyou. God knows. God knows what you are trying to do. God knows the prayers that you pray. He sees them and He hears them. God knows the hearts that you are trying to influence and teach. God knows the wrongs that you are trying to correct and make right. God knows the hours you pour into making things just right so you can do your best.

That thought helped me recently. Through this pandemic the number of hours that has been poured into make podcasts and videos as professional and teachable as possible has been off the charts. The days have been long. The weeks never seem to end. So much to do. Things are so different than what they used to be. And, there has been moments when I wonder if anyone realizes how many hours are being devoted to putting out quality material. It’s easy for the discouragement factor to creep in. It’s easy to think, all of this is not necessary. It’s easy to say, ‘No one else is doing all of this.’ But then, there stands our passage. God sees the good. He knows. No one else may understand, He does. No one else may even care, He does. And, it is to Him that all of this is being done.

Fourth, God sees you personally. He made you just the way you are. Special. Blessed. Gifted. Unique. Not only do you have one of a kind fingerprints, you also have only your talent, experience, background and opportunities. And, God sees what you have done with that. Some of us have come from a tough background , like Joseph. Others, have been slapped in the face, like Job was. Others have had to stand in the crossroads of what they thought was right and what is really right, like Paul did. Tough choices. Tough decisions. God saw. God knew.

God knows how hard you are trying. God knows what you have to deal with every day. Sometimes family and brethren do not understand, God does. God knows when our hearts are right and when we are hiding behind excuses and are trying to dodge responsibilities. God knows.

Because God sees, it ought to make praying to God much easier. We don’t have to try to explain things that He sees and is aware of. It ought to lead us to complain less and be more thankful.

God sees…I hope that I see that God sees.

Roger

Jump Start # 2342

Proverbs 15:3 “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good.”

Our verse today reminds me of the song children sing in Bible class, “Be careful little eyes what you see, for the Father up above is looking down in love, so be careful little eyes what you see.” The Father up above is looking. His eyes, our verse says, are in every place. He sees the good as well as the bad.

Let’s think about this for a moment:

As parents, there are certain things we do not want our children to see. It’s not the wrong stuff in movies, because none of us ought to be seeing wrong stuff, but even the nightly news shows crime, violence and evil in the world. We want to protect our children from images that may scare them. God sees it all.

First, God sees things that breaks His heart. He sees sin and blasphemy. He sees people misusing His name and taking advantage of others. He sees violence. He sees His commands being ignored and broken. He sees people living like animals and living as if He never existed. Made in His image is what we are, but many don’t show that, nor appreciate that.

These wrongs certainly angers God. How we never realize how patient He is with humanity. In an instance, He could wipe out all of us and be done with us. But He doesn’t. Each day is a gift. Each day is a demonstration of His continual love, grace and hope for humanity to follow Him. His name is cursed. His word is mocked. His church is made fun of. His way considered narrow, bigoted and out of touch. And, another day passes and more of this continues.

There will be a day in which the Lord will have enough. His patience will reach it’s end. He will send Jesus and that will end all things. Then the truth will be known. Then folks will fall to their knees. But then, it will be too late. I don’t think we can understand the patience of God. Even today, God is giving some of us yet another opportunity to change our ways and to follow Him.

Second, God sees things that pleases Him. God witnesses kindness. God hears praise in worship. He sees people going out of their way. He sees believers making right choices. He witnesses moms and dads really doing their best to walk in His ways and bring their children up godly. He sees cups of cold water given to others. He sees tears of joy and happiness. He sees preachers pouring their hearts out in their sermons. He sees shepherds laying awake at night, praying to Him about some members. He sees Bible class teachers who put so many hours into making their lessons come alive for the children. He sees folks keeping the church building picked up and clean. He sees those who stop by the hospital to cheer someone up. He sees the earnest conversations that folks have to try to bring one to the Lord. God sees.

Now, a couple of things trickle out of this. God sees things that I do not. How easy it is for me to assume that no one is doing anything. We can get that Elijah syndrome where we think we are the only one doing anything. But unknown to us are many things going on all around us. We didn’t know about the cards that were sent. We didn’t hear the prayers going upward. We didn’t know about the food taken or the visits made. And, we don’t need to know. And, when we are doing these things, we certainly do not need to blow our own trumpet and tell others. Don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing. Remember that.

Third, we can get discouraged because of all the evil and feel like we are on our own. We can feel helpless and that often leads to being hopeless. Imagine ancient Israel in Egypt. Slaves. Oppressed. Not in the position to break free. Not able to change their circumstances. Yet, God who sees all, heard their cry. Imagine Judah in Babylon, or those early Christians in Rome. Helpless. All seems hopeless. Yet, God who sees all is also the God who can do all. He can bring down powerful empires. History shows that. He can liberate His people. They have been rescued from prisons, fiery furnaces and lions dens. His cause is never defeated. His way is never overpowered. The kingdom cannot be shaken. In our discouragement, we must pray. We must trust God. We must realize that He is able to accomplish His will. He really doesn’t need us to help Him.

Fourth, it is a twisted thought to conclude that God only sees wrong or God only sees good. He sees both. Those that believe God only sees wrong, imagines God with a frown upon His face and His divine radar gun always pointed at us. Scared, we shuffle into church buildings on Sunday, not because we love Him, but because we don’t want to go to Hell. This thinking concludes that nothing we do is ever enough. God is never pleased. He is never happy with us. Yet, in the parable of the talents we find the master saying two times, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” The master was pleased. Paul said, “we make it our ambition to please Him.” How can that be, if he is never pleased?

But the other side of this thought is just as dangerous. For others, God only sees good. He closes His eyes to wrongs. Because of that, it is taught that God is too loving to punish any of us. God’s grace covers all things and we really don’t have to fuss over the details because in the end it really doesn’t matter. Just love God and He’ll love you back. This twisted image of God allows people to manufacture a worship that resembles rock concerts, ball games and is driven by fun, feelings and food and very little Scriptures. All’s good, they declare, because God is love. The only thing that matters, we are told, is that one loves God.

Yet, God sees the evil and the good. God saw the offering of Cain and that wasn’t good. God saw the offering of Aaron’s two sons and that wasn’t good. God saw the changes that Jeroboam made to worship. God saw the golden calf that Aaron made. All good? All done in love? Details do not matter? Really? Best look at those stories a bit closer. It does matter. Love is demonstrated through trust and obedience and not feelings and certainly not in ignoring His word. To love God is to do what He wants and what He authorizes.

Finally, God sees all. Because He sees our sins, He has provided salvation through Jesus. Because He sees goodness, He opens the doors for opportunities. There is no hiding things from God. He sees it. He sees it all. There is no need to brag to God. He sees it. He sees it all. Because of this, we ought to be quick to apologize to God and to beg for His mercy. Because of this, we ought also to understand that God is counting upon us to be His hands, feet, and eyes. We are His instruments. He sees how hard we are trying. He sees how we either do things or could have done things and we just didn’t.

And, yet, the God who sees all, still loves you. He still wants to give you a second chance. He still wants you to spend forever with Him in Heaven. He sees. He knows. And, He hasn’t given up on you! We tend to think that if someone really knew us, they probably wouldn’t like us. God knows you. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows and He still longs for you to be with Him.

And, that is amazing!

Roger