1 Peter 3:12 gives us a promise, that “They eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous.”

It seems obvious. God is omniscient. He sees all. But the promise in 1 Peter is more than a promise of seeing, it’s a promise of purposeful attention.

As a mother of two young children, I can understand purposeful attention. If I take them to the park or to church and allow them to run and play, I can promise I will have my eyes on the two little girls that belong to me. Sure, I’ll see the other children, but my eyes, my attention is on them.

I’m watching to make sure they’re safe, to ensure they’re being kind to others and others are being kind to them. I’m making sure. I don’t need to step in to correct unkind or dangerous behavior. I’m watching so I can clap for them when they make it down the big slide, and rush to them when they trip and scrape their knee. I’m watching so I can make memories of their little laughs and their silly moves. My eyes are on my children.

In the same way, if we are living a life in right standing with God, we can trust His eyes are on us. He is watching us to step in with correction when we need it, to comfort us in our pain, to rejoice with us in our victories, and to protect us from the dangers we might bring on ourselves if He wasn’t there. His eyes are on His children.

But any mother of toddlers knows that all it takes is about 20 seconds of distraction and suddenly you’ll find your three-year coloring on the walls or your one-year-old standing on your table. You promise you just turned to stir your spaghetti, but they knew.

While God isn’t going to look away from me, I can walk away from His gaze if I follow my will instead of His.

And I don’t want to know what even 20 seconds without His eyes on me would look like. I need Him. I need His direction, His strength, His joy, His peace, His plans.

We live in a world that loves attention, that wants everyone in the room to be looking at them. But in a world that chases fame, I don’t need all eyes on me, I just need His eyes on me.