Zechariah 2:8- one of the sweetest declarations in all of Scripture.
But first, a minor preface as to the making of this post. Sam Francart, a fellow “Swag Squad” member saw the eye of the Lord right before her face during Training Camp. That’s awesome and she blessed everyone by telling us about what she saw soon after.
Keep that in mind as you read on.
The pastor at church touched on this a couple weeks ago and I have not been able to get it out of my head.
The Word: “For thus said the LORD of hosts, after his glory sent me to the nations who plundered you, for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye”
Brother and sister in Christ, read that again- out loud. This is about you… “he who touches you touches the apple of HIS eye”
God speaks that out over us, His beloved- which He also calls us in Scripture, by the way. He loves us!
Anyway, “the apple of his eye.” Mmmmm. That sounds pretty good to me. What does that mean though?
“Apple of the eye” is used to describe the situation you experience when someone is literally so close to you that they’re able to see themselves in the reflection of your eye.
Get that. Imagine… no no wait- go do it. Call your roommate, or whoever is near you. Walk up to them, look em in the eye, and make sure you are close enough to them that you can see yourself. Until the features of your face are reflecting back at you from their eye. Stop reading right here and go do it… I’ll save your place.
….this is where you left off to go have someone be “the apple of your eye”….
Awkward right? It’s uncomfortably close!
Get over the uneasiness because that is what the Father says of you!
Yes! As a beloved child of God, you are “THE apple of His eye!”
Jesus Himself is literally closer than six inches from your face, gazing into your eyes.
Think about that. Close your eyes. Well, read this first then do it.
In a sec, close your eyes and picture the Father gazing deeply into you because He longs to, because He loves you. He’s thinking about you, did you know that?
Go ahead. I’ll save your place again.
….this is where you strive to enter His rest and just sit, ready to encounter God….
How was it?
No matter what you picture, it will never come close to the brilliance of the Father’s tangible, incredibly real gaze that is coming very very soon for us all. We will soon finally see our Savior face-to-face and we will see the Father because we have seen the Son.
We won’t have to ask for the light of His face to shine on us any longer because that will be a reality and we also won’t have to wonder at His appearance. Be thankful that you can imagine Him standing right before you, but know that it will get so much better because He will soon be really, really, really, really right in front of you.
I pray that we would sit under the weight of this declaration of us. You are the “apple of His eye….” Abba, Father, is literally closer than 6 inches from your face, just gazing at you… pumping life, love, peace, rest and hope in and through you.
How irrelevant is every other competing voice- every accusation from yourself or the enemy- when your gaze is taken up by YAHWEH? Keep your eye on His! May He become the apple of YOUR eye! Be completely consumed by the Father’s love and magnificent brilliance, because He is right there.. Jesus is 6 inches from your face still, and He is just gazing into your eyes.
What does that mean for us now? How does that change everything, because I know it does, it already has. I am going to live under the weight of that this week.
Press in, ask God what that means for you. If you are the apple of His eye, that should change you!! The Lord Most High is closer than you think. And He is just gazing into your eyes.
