"The Eye Of The Lord"

“The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy.” I remember as a very small child we would sit in front of our big console radio and listen to dramas just like children sit in front of the TV and watch their favorite shows. One of my favorite was a very scary mystery show called, “The Shadow.” In the prelude a very ominous voice would come on and ask the same question every time the program came on, “Who knows the evil that lurks in the hearts of men?” Then he would answer, “The Shadow knows,” alluding to the fact that “The Shadow” knew who was the murderer or the thief, or whoever committed the crime involved in the program that evening. And, sure enough, he always did know! It was, and is, good to learn as I grew older that there is no one that knows what is in anyone’s heart but the all seeing eye of God. In Genesis 16 is the story of Hagar with Ishmael in the wilderness where God saw them with all their running away, anger and hurt. But God confronted her with Truth and a prophetic word for her son. In this story Hagar realized she had been confronted by El Roi, the God Who sees. “She called the name of the Lord Who spoke to her, ‘You are a God of seeing,’ for she said, Have I not even here in the wilderness looked upon Him Who sees me and lived? Or have I here also seen the future purposes or designs of Him Who sees me? Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi (a well to the Living One Who sees me)” (vs.13-14). He also sees and knows and understands all about all of our situations and locations. He sees not only our acts and thoughts, but our hearts’ motives and desires, our hurts, our temptations, every detail of our lives. We cannot hide or run away from God, we cannot get away from His all-seeing eye. Like Hagar and Adam and Eve (Gen.3:8), we cannot hide. We cannot hide from our duty (Duet.22:3-4) or from the needs of our own flesh and blood, whether spirit, soul or body (Isa.58:7). Even the evil-doers who love their darkness, there is no darkness that can hide them (Job 34:22). He knows the darkest and deepest secrets of our hearts but as He called to Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” He is calling us from our hiding places. He knew where they were physically but I believe He wanted them to think about where they were spiritually. They hid because of their guilt over sinning against God. Psalm 139:7-12 tells us that we cannot run-away from God’s presence even if we go up into heaven, or make our bed in the grave, or if we go into the uttermost part of the sea; even the darkness hides nothing from God because the night shines as the day to Him. “Nothing is so closely covered up that it will not be revealed, or hidden that it will not be known. Whatever you have spoken in the darkness will be heard and listened to in the light, and whatever you have whispered in people’s ears behind closed doors will be proclaimed upon the housetops” (Luke 12:2-3). So be careful of your words, thoughts and deeds “and be sure your sins will find you out” (Numbers 32:23c). This God Who sees says there is a day of reckoning for all those sins we may be trying to hide, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil” (Eccl.12:14). “So do not make any hasty or premature judgments before the time when the Lord comes again, for He will bring to light the secret things that are now hidden in darkness, and will expose the secret motives and purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his due commendation from God”(I Cor.4:5 Amp.). So let’s stand in awe of El Roi, the God Who sees, and have hope in His mercy. I want to live in His light and have clean hands and a pure heart by confessing any secret things I would be ashamed of in that day when all things will be revealed. The Shadow doesn’t know but our God sees and knows everything and He reaches out in mercy for us to run out of the darkness into His wonderful Light!