Daily Devotion 16 February 2021

Create a peaceful space to pause, and allow yourself to feel God’s presence alongside you, as near to you as your own breath. In following the reflection below, as a church we will draw closer to God and to one another as we grow in faith and deepen our sense of belonging to God.

Psalm 33:13-15 ‘The Greatness and Goodness of God’

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;  he sees all humankind.
14 From where he sits enthroned he watches all
the inhabitants of the earth –  15 he who fashions the hearts
of them all, and observes all their deeds.

When our children were tiny, my late husband and I spent a couple of holidays in the New Forest with Robert and Jill and their little ones. On one occasion while we were playing in the forest, we adults sent the children to hide while we counted to twenty. They were easy to find, because their idea of ‘hiding’ was to shut their eyes and cover their faces with their hands – if they couldn’t see us, then we couldn’t see them! As we grow up, we realize that isn’t so, the fact that we can’t see others doesn’t mean they can’t see us. Indeed these days with traffic and security cameras all around us, we’re watched a lot of the time.

The Bible tells us  that God is always aware of everything that happens, everywhere, to everyone in the universe. He sees not just what’s going on outside, but what’s going on in our hearts and our heads, the motives and attitudes and feelings nobody else sees. In the beginning when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, what did they do? They hid. They thought they could hide their disobedience from the Lord. But God already knew where they were and what they had done. He’d seen it all. So why is it important to us to know that God is always watching us?

To begin with, it can help us to live well. When we know someone’s watching us, we tend to think twice before doing something wrong. We all know how traffic slows down when there’s a police car on the motorway! So when we’re tempted to do something that’s not quite right, if we remember that God is watching us, we can send up an arrow prayer. It could help us to avoid making a bad choice.

More importantly, knowing God is watching us at every moment brings us comfort. Like a Good Shepherd, the Lord watches over us to protect us and to provide for us. He knows what we need now, and what we will need tomorrow. Physical, financial, emotional, or spiritual needs, God knows them all. He won’t always give us everything we think we need, but he has promised to provide for our needs when we trust him. What a wonderful antidote to worry!

One final thing, knowing that God is watching motivates us to do our best, just as children often try to perform better in sporting activities when their parents are watching. God has created us to be who we are, with our own unique personalities and gifts, and he sees how we use what he has given us. Are we using our gifts, or shelving them? Do we use them for God’s glory, or for our own glory? Are we using our talents and abilities to bless others, or just to benefit ourselves? Our heavenly Father sees how we play in the game of life every day. When we know that for sure in our hearts, it will make a difference in how we live. Knowing God is watching motivates us to do our best for him.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,
God with us, Emmanuel:
In difficult moments may we seek you;
in happy moments may we praise you;
in quiet moments may we worship you;
in painful moments may we trust you;
and every moment
may we lift our hearts to you in thanks.
In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Reflection & Prayer © 2021 Ann Caffyn.
Image freely available online.

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