God’s watchful eye

1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are attentive to their prayer.
Perhaps you are presently encountering serious hatred and opposition in business, social life or in doing God’s work. You might be tossed to and fro by contrary winds of health deterioration, financial loss, marital strife and redundancy at work. Threats of persecution are hurled at you from before and behind and from the sides, and you fear that you will not be able to escape the harm looming upon you. But I have a word of encouragement for you. If you are in right standing with God, He is watching over you with jealous care. God will help you right early. Begin to envision victory, success, deliverance and incredible breakthroughs. God will outwit those who are putting snares and traps against you and you will experience a miraculous escape like that of a bird out of the snare of the fowler.

It is a delightful thought amid danger to know that God’s watching eye is upon you for good. When I was growing up, my mother would send me out into the dark at night to fetch firewood. Normally I refused telling her that I was afraid of darkness. She quelled my fear by assuring me that her eyes were watching over me. With that assurance I would dart out into the dark counting on my mother’s protection should some wicked, horned animal come after me. But with the benefit of hindsight, I now understand that my mother’s pledge of protection was in vain. She remained in the house while I went outside. If any monster came to harm me, she would come to my rescue too late or we could both fall victims to that monster. She is a human being subject to limitations of space, time and strength.

However, God is not a man who is subject to physical limitations. When He promises to watch over you, He ensures your safety by dispatching angels that will guard you, protect you and keep you from all harm. It is written in Psalms 91:10-13, “No evil shall before you (the righteous person), nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways…”

All the beasts listed above are dangerous and they are symbols of evil and harmful spiritual forces. My mother’s watching eye was not accompanied by angelic forces. The power of God’s watchful eye is in the fact that His angels stand ready to execute His orders against the evil forces.

If only you knew, Oh dear tossed soul, that you are under twenty-four divine surveillance and protection, you would not fear anything. You would know that the threats and attempts of evil things to harm you will be rendered ineffective by God’s watchful eye. Instead of fearing that you will be injured or that your present worsening circumstances will lead to your funeral, believe and declare, “God is my helper, I shall not be afraid. What can man do unto me? (Hebrews 13:6).

Understand that God is always beforehand to the devil. God sees the harm the evil one has in mind for you and puts a protective hedge and angel around you well before the enemy sets up the trap for you. You have a caring God. If God cannot allow a sparrow or a leaf to fall down without His careful notice, how much more does He care for you who was created in His image? Put your fears of harm to rest, lest that fear will drive you out from under His wings of protection into the open where the arrows of the enemy will strike you down.

But for your safety, victory and deliverance to be guaranteed, remember to observe the condition for divine preservation. You must be upright and in right standing with God. This means that you must not live with any sin unforgiven or unconfessed. When you fully meet that condition, be assured that His eyes are upon you for good but His face is against those who practice evil to oppose, frustrate and to defeat them on your behalf. Fear no evil but count on the watchful eye of the Lord. Even if you are not directly conscious of that watchful eye, it still follows you everywhere for He has pledged to be with you forever.