Do you know the verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous”? Is that verse in the Old Testament or the New Testament? Regardless of which answer you gave to that question, you’re right. We know it best from 1 Peter 3:12, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.” When Peter wrote that, he was quoting from Psalm 34:15, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous.” Does that reality give you comfort?
Imagine that you lived during the lifetime of Jesus, when the Lord God took on flesh. Imagine the literal, human eyes of the Lord falling on you and how that would make you feel. For even in that day, the eyes of the Lord Jesus fell on those who were His people. Imagine Him looking at you.
One of my favorite instances is when Jesus “saw them straining at rowing” (Mark 6:48). On this occasion, Jesus was on a mountain alone (Matt. 14:23), in the middle of the night (Mark 6:48), during a great storm (John 6:18), and His disciples were three to four miles out in the sea (John 6:19), straining at rowing (Mark 6:48). In the midst of all this turmoil, storms and troubles, “He saw them.” Do you know that “the eyes of the Lord are on you” in the struggles and storms of life? What a comfort!
During the last week of His life, Jesus was teaching in the temple and watched as “the people put money into the treasury” (Mark 12:41). A poor widow, living in poverty, came and “out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood” (12:44). Can you imagine what must have been going through her mind? Not just on that day, but every day of her life, as she struggled day in and day out to survive. Luke tells us that “He saw” her “putting in two mites” (Luke 21:2). What a hard life she was living. No one seemed to care. But, the Lord did! He saw her! He saw her life’s struggles! He saw her generosity! What a comfort!
There are numerous other occasions in the life of Jesus when “He saw” people in various circumstances. There was the day when four men broke through a roof to lower their paralyzed friend down to Jesus, and “He saw their faith” (Luke 5:20). There was the day “when He saw the multitudes” and “was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). There was the time when, while He was escaping an attempted stoning by the Jews, “He saw a man who was blind from birth” (John 8:59-9:1).
Today, it is no different. Jesus is still living. And, He still sees what is happening in your life and in your heart. Take comfort knowing that as “He saw them,” He also sees you!