The Apple of His Eye

The Apple of His Eye

In Psalm 17:8 (ESV) David makes an amazing statement. David is praying and he says to God, "[God, would you] Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings..." 

That little phrase “apple of your eye” is used a few times in Scripture. It can be translated, “the little man of the eye” or “the daughter of the eye.” 

It's an expression based upon what happens when you look a person in the eye at point-blank range. When you get really, really close to a person and look them in the eye you can actually see an image or reflection of yourself in the eye of the other person. 

When you’re very close to another person, their eye literally serves as a kind of mirror for you. When you gaze deeply into the eyes of another person, you can actually see yourself…

Wow! 

Here’s what I believe is going on in David’s head and heart… In Psalm 17, David’s feeling a little distant from God… He feels as if he has just come through a time of testing, but believes he has demonstrated purity and integrity…

However, the evil one is the “accuser of the brothers” (Revelation 12:10), and he constantly assaults the minds and hearts of the sons and daughters of God with thoughts and feelings of inadequacy, inferiority, shame and guilt… David is experiencing one of these attacks…

So he cries out to God… “I am praying to you because I know you will hear me when I pray. Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies” (Psalm 17:6-7). Then David reaches Verse 8 and prays this amazing prayer, “God, would you guard me… Would you keep me as the apple of your eye…”  

           

David was basically saying, "God, I want this kind of relationship with you.  I want to get so close to you… I want to be able to look you in the eyes and see my reflection staring back.  Because when I look in your eyes, I know what I’ll see…  I’ll see extravagant grace, unending mercy and amazing love"

Psalm 17 reminds us that when we choose to respond to the grace of God, we’re invited into an intimate relationship with a God who knows us fully and loves us unconditionally. 

In fact, Psalm 34:5 (NLT) says, “Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.”

The Bible invites us to get as close to God as we can get… Why? Because David was on to something in Psalm 17! David understood…  David knew… David lived with this amazing idea, “If I can just look into the eyes of God, I know that regardless of what culture says about me… Regardless of what significant peers or authority figures in my life say about me… Regardless of what they “see” in me… Regardless of what the evil one whispers in my mind about me… I know if I can just look into the eyes of God, I’ll be reminded that God sees me with eyes saturated with grace…”

Here’s the implication from Psalm 17 and Psalm 34 for you and me! If we get close enough to God we’ll be able to see ourselves the way God sees us!  We’ll see ourselves through the eyes of God…  And we’ll discover that even with all of our flaws and failures; we are loved, prized, cherished and treasured in the eyes of God! 

In fact, according to Zechariah 2:8, this is not simply one of David's prayers, but it’s a divine reality. 

Zechariah 2:8 says, “…whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye…”

That’s how important you are to God!  You matter to God!  We matter to God!

Why not pause today? Get still… Get quite… Ask God, “…keep me as the apple of your eye…”  Then, let the Holy Spirit remind you of God’s extravagant love for You.

Yes, sometimes the gaze of God will bring conviction of sin… Sometimes His gaze will cause us to fall on our faces in deep repentance. But even then, God’s gaze is not meant to produce shame, but it is meant to free us from anything that keep us from experiencing God’s best for our lives…

My prayer today: “Keep me as the apple of Your eye.”