You Are The Apple of God's Eye

Dear Friends, 

When I was a child we would sing a song about having a great, big, wonderful God who never leaves us and who is ready to catch us when we stumble because we are the apple of his eye. I used to enjoy singing it and although I never fully understood what it really meant to be the apple of God's eye, I knew it was connected to God loving me. If you are a similar age to me and grew up in church, you may be familiar with this song too.

At the time I never realised that the phrase "the apple of God's eye" came from the Bible. But I was reminded of this song a few weeks ago when I read the following verse in the Bible:

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings. Psalm 17:8 (NIV)

The idea of being the apple of God's eye has been on my mind since then, so I decided I wanted to know more about what it means to be the apple of God's eye.  Here's what I learned:

The phrase "apple of the eye" refers to the pupil of the eye. The Psalms were originally written in Hebrew and the Hebrew word for "apple" is "ishon" meaning "little man". So the phrase means "the little man of the eye". This is because when you look someone closely in the eye, you can see your reflection in their pupil. 

There are two specific things I want to share with you today about what this means for us in a relationship with God:

1. We are precious to God.

The pupil of the eye is valuable. So when we read about us being the apple of God's eye we see that we are valuable to God, we are loved by him, cherished by him, important to him, precious to him. His eye is always on us, watching over us. Not in the sense of waiting for us to make a mistake or fail him, but in the sense that he loves us so much, he can't take his eyes off us. 

God cherishes us above all things. Are you aware that you are precious to God? Sometimes it can be hard for us to accept this truth.

A few days ago this phrase came to my attention once again as I was reading Tracy Williamson's book "The Father's Kiss".* But this time it was from another verse in which God is speaking about his son, Jesus, at his baptism:

This is My Son, whom I love; this is the Apple of My eye; with Him I am well pleased. Matthew 3:17 (VOICE)

This was no coincidence that I was reading this again. This was God speaking to me. Telling me what he wants me to know in my heart, not just in my head. Maybe it's something he is saying to you too as you read this.

When God looks at us, he sees Jesus. In the first part of Colossians 3:12 we are told how God sees us:

So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], (AMP)

You and I are "well-beloved by God himself", chosen by him and made holy.

He has chosen to adopt us into his family. He has chosen us to be his sons and daughters and he loves us in the same way he loves his son, Jesus. This means that just as Jesus is the apple of God's eye, so too are we. Jesus himself says in John 17:23 that God loves us with the same love he has for Jesus. I find it mind-boggling that God should love you and me just as he does his own son, Jesus!

2. We are protected by God.

Not only does being the apple of God's eye mean we are loved and cherished by him, it also means we are protected and cared for by him. The pupil is the most delicate part of the eye. We will naturally protect our eyes from harm by blinking. In the same way, God protects and cares for us.  

Let's look again at Psalm 17:8 but this time from the Amplified Version:

Keep me [in Your affectionate care, protect me] as the apple of Your eye; Hide me in the [protective] shadow of Your wings.

God protects us because he loves and cares for us. My children are precious to me and as their Mum, I have always sought to care for them, keep them from harm and protect them. There is still that desire in me to protect them even though they are in their late teens/early twenties. As a parent, you never stop caring about your children and what is going on in their lives. So too, God our Father never stops caring for us or protecting us.

There is wonderful imagery in the words "Hide me in the protective shadow of your wings". God is our shelter, our protector, our guard, our strength, our refuge, our safe place. Again there is the sense of care and protection over us just as a mother bird puts her wings over her young to care for and protect them. 

Much of life is not easy, we can face difficulties at work, at home, with our health, etc. It can very quickly become too much for us, but it is not too much for God, and he is waiting for us to seek him, to seek refuge in him. When everyone and everything feels against us, where else can we go for shelter and protection but to God, the Mighty One? We can have total trust and confidence in him. 

As we spend time with God, soaking in his love for us, gaining his perspective on life, he gives us the strength to move out, to face whatever life throws at us, knowing that he is keeping a close watch over us and is ever present, guarding us and protecting us.

When I want to deepen my understanding of God's Word and meditate on it, I will often look at different translations. The message of the verse(s) is the same in any translation, but the words used to express it are different and can help in developing our understanding. I want to end with just one more translation of the verse we have been focusing on today. 

Protect me from harm;

 keep an eye on me like you would a child

    reflected in the twinkling of your eye.

    Yes, hide me within the shelter of your embrace,

    under your outstretched wings.

Psalm 17:8 (TPT)

To Think About:
What does it mean to you to be the apple of God's eye? You may need to spend some time with God exploring this concept some more.

Take time to meditate over the coming days on Psalm 17:8. Use whichever translation you prefer, or use several translations and ask God to reveal his truth to you. If you journal you may like to write down what God shows you.

Vicki

*The Father's Kiss by Tracy Williamson can be pre-ordered through Amazon or Eden

If you enjoyed reading this devotional blog, then you may like to know that my book "Dear Friend...52 Weekly Devotions to Encourage, Challenge and Inspire" is available to buy from Amazon, on Kindle or in paperback. (Its content is material adapted from past blog posts.) To learn more, click on the link below:

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