For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths (Proverbs 5:21, esv).
That’s right, God sees you. He “ponders all [your] paths”—He doesn’t miss a single detail of your life. He hears your conversations with your spouse. He sees your checkbook. He knows your unspoken fears. Your ways are “before the eyes of the Lord.”
When the Bible speaks of the eyes of God, what does that mean?
1. The eyes of the Lord are inescapable. He sees all. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3).
2. The eyes of the Lord are the standard for what’s right and true. Deuteronomy 6:18 instructs, “And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord, that it may go well with you.” Throughout the Old Testament, individual kings were under His gaze. The Scriptures declare that some “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” (2 Kings 14:3), while others did not.
3. The eyes of the Lord are focused on and attentive to His own. While God sees everything on earth, He has a predisposition to fix His attention on the lives of His children and to extend loving care toward us. “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12).
4. The eyes of the Lord are searching for people to bless. “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9). He’s flat-out looking for people to support. He never tires of picking out His children in the crowd.
5. The eyes of the Lord observe righteousness and award grace. The earth and its inhabitants were corrupt, “but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6:8, nkjv). What a great challenge; what a great promise. How moving to imagine God saying, “Get more blessing to that child. He loves My Son! Let’s help this daughter. She’s following Me.”
All this begs the question—why is God watching you? And not only is God watching, His eyes are tenderly focused on you. Here’s why: “Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you” (Isaiah 43:4, esv). He watches you because He loves you.
Yes, you are precious to God; however, this isn’t a pop-psychology pep talk. Of the roughly seven billion people on this planet, no one person has extra-special, intrinsic value. Being precious to God is better than being intrinsically valuable! If God’s love for you hinged on your intrinsic value, then His love would have to change when you forfeit that value. But God’s love is unchanging—He declares you precious because He chooses to love you. And because your preciousness begins and ends with God, that will never change either.
You don’t have value; you are valued. For “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us” (Ephesians 1:4–5). You didn’t earn or deserve your value, so you can’t lose or forfeit it. God has declared you precious in His sight. Rather than thinking, I have value, believe instead, I am valued. I am precious to God to a degree totally disproportionate to the person I am.
Fix your eyes on that today.
Journal
Pray
Father God, You focus on me and know every detail of my life. Not only do You see me, but You also value me. Remind me of these truths, Holy Spirit, when my heart starts to waver, when I doubt my worth in Your sight. Thank You that I can never earn or lose Your love. You simply love me, and with an overflowing heart I say I love You too. In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, amen.