“I have trouble getting my eyes to focus to read, sew, or
make my bead bracelets, even with my progressive lenses. I often think my
glasses are smudged, and I feel like I need brighter light,” I complained to
the eye doctor.
“That’s because you have the beginnings of cataracts in both
eyes. Cataracts cloud the normally clear lens of your eye and distorts the
light that comes through the pupil—the opening in the direct center of the eye,”
explained the ophthalmologist.
The pupil is one of the most important parts of the eye, allowing
light to enter the eye, beginning the process of sight. The pupils of our eyes
are vital to our ability to see. We instinctively protect them by closing our
eyelids when anything foreign tries to enter the eye.
Zechariah 2:8 and Psalm 17:8 both describe God’s children as
the “apple”—the pupil—of God’s eye. Just as the pupils of our eyes are vital to
us, God places great importance on us—we are vital to Him. He protects us,
cares for us, guards us, and treasures us.
It’s too bad we see ourselves that way and don’t believe God
does either. In The Tempest of God, Iain Matthew writes that, while we
may never say it in so many words, when we think poorly of ourselves, whom God
considers the apple of His eye, we devalue ourselves and cease to believe that
we are a necessary component to God.
Feeling insignificant and unworthy limits us by keeping us from
stepping out in faith. It quenches those nudges from the Spirit that want to
direct us into new areas of service and ministry. Several scriptures reveal the
real truth—each of us matters to God and He considers every person of vital
importance.
- I am precious to God and He loves me. (Isaiah 43:4)
- I am valuable to God. (Matthew 6:26)
- I am God’s handiwork, created to carry out His purposes. (Ephesians 2:10)
- It was God’s will to create me and give me life. (Revelation 4:11)
Be encouraged!
Pam©2018 Pamela D. Williams
