“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord and He ponders all his goings.”
Proverbs 5:21
If He knows the number of hairs on our head and number of tears we shed—which He does (Mt. 10:30; Ps. 56:8)—then we shouldn’t be surprised that He also knows all of our thoughts, motives and deeds (Heb. 4:12).
His all-seeing Eye.
The ancient Egyptians used to draw a large eye on various things, but we can rest assured that their depiction wasn’t in relation to today’s Manna. They were quite polytheistic and believed Pharaoh was the supreme god; yet, we know such was not the case—for the one true-and-living God proved that that day when the children of Israel walked across the Red Sea on dry ground and Pharaoh’s army drowned beneath its waves (Ex. 14:13-31).
Too often we’re not much different from them if we’re not careful.
We talk about the Lord being “high and lifted up” (Is. 6:1) and can even quote Scriptures to back up our claims; yet, if the truth be known, somehow we forget that “our ways are always before His eyes and He ponders all of our goings.”
Think of that, Pilgrim:
“He ponders all of our goings.”
All of them. When we get up in the morning, He’s there. When we go to the supermarket during the lunch hour, He’s there. When we’re driving home in rush hour traffic and start fretting or fuming, He’s there. When we sit down after supper and read the daily newspaper or watch the evening news, He’s there. When we lie down at night at the end of a long day, He’s there (Ps. 139).
Is this reassuring to you? Or unnerving?
Our answer is determined by our attitude toward today’s Manna.
Interestingly, the Hebrew word “palac” is used here for “ponders” and also means “to roll flat, prepare a road, revolve about, etc.” Thus, it’s the picture of constructing an avenue or thoroughfare. And, when viewed in light of our Manna’s context, we realize that the Heavenly Father does more than just evaluate or reflect upon our lives.
He’s actively involved in “guiding our steps” (Prov. 3:5-6) and “preparing us for the Race that must be run” (Heb. 12:1b). Glory!!
Thus, the key to our “fighting a good Fight, finishing our Course and keeping the Faith” (II Tim. 4:7) is “laying aside every weight and sin that so easily trips us up” (Heb. 12:1a) and “keeping our eyes upon Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2).
And, an integral part of this is “keeping from”. . . “abiding in”. . .and “walking in:” Keeping from sin, “abiding in Christ” (Jn. 15:1-7) and “walking in His Spirit” (Rom. 8:1).
A daily discipline to be sure. But, with the Holy Spirit’s help we certainly can do it. And, by daily “hiding His Word in our hearts” (Ps. 119:11) and “pondering all of HIS ways,” we can rest assured that He’ll be pleased by what He sees and ponders in our lives. Hallelujah!!
By Tom Smith Morning Manna Dated October 26, 2010
