The Apple of His Eye

There are times in life when it seems that our Father is nowhere to be found. Times when we feel like we really need to see Him but we can't. Have you ever felt like God checked out of your circumstances and didn't bother to tell you that He was leaving? Well, the good news is that your feelings were just that - feelings. When we feel like God doesn't see our needs, the truth is very different from our feelings.

Our loving Father never even glances away from us, even for a moment. Psalm 139:3 says, "You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways" (NAS). Look at the picture I've posted with this blog. That child can see only one thing - himself. He's so close to the eye that he can't even see the eye. He can only see his own reflection in the pupil of the eye.

Your Father is watching you. In Zechariah 2:8, our Father called His people, "the apple" of His eye. The word literally means "the pupil." Not only are you in your Father's sight. He is focused on you. He "scrutinizes" your lifestyle. That word means "to fan or to winnow." It's the picture of an ancient harvester throwing the wheat and chaff into the air to let the wind separate them so that the wheat could be harvested.

The winds of trouble may blow in, but your Father is watching you. He is using everything that comes into your life to produce a harvest in you and for you. In the midst of our trials, our Father is not far from us. To the contrary, He is often closer than we think. Look at that picture above again. Then relax. It's all good. That's a guarantee.