The Apple of God’s Eye
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - The past 2 weeks I have been dealing with my eyes after having had emergency eye surgery due to a Retinal Detachment. I then was struggling with only being able to see through only one eye which was extremely rough and still I haven’t gotten used to it, everything was real blurry, if I didn’t have my glasses on I couldn’t hardly make anything out, then with my glasses on I still had to turn my head a certain way just to bring things into focus enough to really be able to see it. I was ok looking at things in a distance but up close is hard. I had to remain in a face down position 45 minutes out of every hour for a week, I can only sleep on my right side or on my stomach with my face downward into a pillow with a hole in it like one of those airplane pillows. I am not able to drive because my peripheral vision is messed up and my depth perception is really off. The saying blind in one eye and can’t see out the other is true in my case. It is at this point that the devil began to work hard depression, anxiety, frustration began to really grab hold, the enemy began saying yep it is beginning to happen, it’s only going to get worse, you are not going to be able to see anymore. I can say I became like Job when he said in Job 3:25 “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me and that which I was afraid of is come unto me” and I even questioned God – WHY. Not the fact that He put it in my spirit while driving back home from Ohio to make the eye appointment now before it is too late. So, I made the appointment on Wednesday night online and seen the eye doctor Friday morning, who sent me to the Retina Specialist straight from her office, once in his office he scheduled me for surgery on Monday morning and said I should have been in several weeks ago saying that the condition of my eye was not something that just happened in the last week or two. I noticed my vision was getting blurry and even my wife said you sure are wearing your glasses a lot more and still can’t see. I was waiting because my insurance says I can get glasses every other year, so I was going to put it off until at least December, but God placed in my spirit to go now.
Even though I questioned God – WHY – why this is happening, why now, and why me - He placed down in my spirit remember you are the apple of my eye. I began think on that the Apple of His Eye and God began to reveal somethings to me.
The Apple of God’s Eye!!!!
PRAYER
SCRIPTURE: - Deuteronomy 32:10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye”.
Zechariah 2:8 “For thus saith the Lord of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye”.
If I may I would like to combine those two verses to read “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye”. Now these verses are initially talking about Israel and how God protected them leading and guiding them through the desert for forty years, but I had to make it personal especially when I first started dealing with the frustration and anxiety I was dealing with and my eyes because I was howling in the wilderness of emotions. Then I began to think about what God said “for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of His eye” that’s personal, personal pain, personal sensitivity.
The Apple of God’s Eye: - Metaphorically signifies something that is extremely cherished, precious, and protected. It is that which is highly valued and safeguarded with great care. The pupil of the eye is essential for vision and is one of the most sensitive and highly protected parts of the body. We understand the 5 senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell and we know how important each is, but for me sight is extremely important, and God says you are the apple of my eye. To be the “Apple of God’s Eye” means more than just being loved and admired. It encompasses a rich and deep-rooted relationship with God that includes protection, care, and favor. WATCH THIS: - because the loss of the pupil of the eye causes blindness so the apple of the eye is vitally important and to be called the Apple of God’s Eye show just how valuable I am.
The apple of my eye is a Hebrew idiom that has been translated from ba vat ey no’. It expresses the most precious and the dearest thing one has – the apple of their eye. Leaving no room for doubt that there is nothing more precious to me or nothing more protected by me. It literally is the most treasured and important thing one has.
In Hebrew, the term is ishon or bat ayin, which literally means “little man of the eye” or “daughter of the eye,” pointing to the pupil. The concept of the little man of the eye portrays the fact where one sees a miniature reflection of oneself when they look into the eyes of someone. If you look closely into the eyes of a person when you are speaking to them, you will see your miniature reflection in their eyes.
The pupil is something that needs protection because it is central to vision and vulnerable to harm, it is extremely sensitive and must be protected with the utmost care and concern. If you get something in your eye, you understand how sensitive your eyes are and how painful it is as long as it is in there. So, just think about that and God says you are the apple of his eye and the enemy tries to attack you or causes you harm it irritates God and He protects you.
Understand protection indicates the awesome relationship between God and those He loves. To say I am the Apple of His Eye says I am so valuable to Him and that He will protect me with His power and His ultimate care. He promises that He will not allow harm to come to me or any of His chosen and that He will watch over me & them diligently as Psalm 91:10 says, “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling”.
Being the “Apple of God’s Eye” indicates a special affection from God. It is a unique place of honor where God expresses His love in tangible ways that is embedded in God’s sovereign grace and agape love and not in our merit. He is so in touch with our needs and protective of us understanding our inadequate emotions and our failing feelings He understands for Isaiah 53:3 says, “He is a man of sorrows acquainted with grief” He understands when we feel the way we feel, He knows why sometimes we question Him WHY, He is in no way intimidated by our questioning Him. In fact, He wants us to question Him because when we question God it lets us know that without Him I can do nothing, without Him I will fail, I am at the limits of all that I can do and unless He steps in nothing will change. As long as we think we can handle it ourselves we don’t ask God, but when we come to the end of ourselves and realize ONLY GOD can do this. Yes, He has given the doctors the understanding and the know how to do the operation but the healing comes from Him.
So, there is a special affection He feels for us. He will shield me / us from harm, from dangers seen and unseen, He will keep those whose minds are stayed on Him. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. God gave the most important thing that He had so that we can have a relationship with Him and be protected by Him as the Apple of His Eye.
Being the Apple of God's Eye means that we are never forgotten or overlooked, His gaze is always upon us, guiding, protecting, and providing for us even when we fail to recognize it. His love is not conditioned on our perfection but remains steadfast, even when we are rebellious, struggling, or lost.
My Testimony: - So, I have been praying Lord please heal my eyes because I still can’t see like I need to be seeing. I have a gas bubble in my left eye which is what the doctor put there to repair the Retinal Detachment and all I see is light out of my left eye, it is like looking through one of those kaleidoscopes we had when we were kids with all the different colors, but just white lights. My right eye is blurred without my glasses; I can see distance pretty good but up close or to read I need my glasses. So, I have been asking God to heal my eyes you said I am the apple of your eye, and I know that you will protect, provide, and prevail and I can’t do it without you, my emotions are getting to me, and I am struggling with this – David said it like this “My foot almost slipped”. There are things that I need to do, my grass needs to be cut, and we have just under an acre so I can’t just have the kid down the street cut my grass and other things that need to be done.
Dealing with emotions, struggling to see, Lord please heal my eyes. I went to the doctor on Friday he ran all the test and said my eye is doing great, the Retina is re-attached, he stated the pressure of my left eye is a little high and gave me a prescription for that but then asked if I was seeing a line at the top of my left eye. I said yes and he said good that means the gas bubble is shrinking and your eye just needs to heal. He goes on to say as the bubble shrinks my vision will improve and I will be able to see more and more as the shrinkage occurs.
Then I thought about what I have been praying Lord please heal my eyes and that is exactly what He is doing healing my eyes. A healing takes times unlike a miracle that is right now, the miracle was God had me to see the doctor right now when I made the appointment now He is healing my eyes.
According to the doctor I will have a follow up appointment in 8 weeks, the bubble should have dissipated, and my eyes healed by then. Naturally I got excited because 8 is the number of new beginnings and I am standing on the promises of God understanding that I am the apple of His Eye and I will have a new beginning, a new point of view, I will be able to see better than I have before because He said He will let no evil befall thee.
I just want to encourage you today regardless of what you are going through, no matter the situation, the circumstances, the emotional state understand that you are the apple of God’s eye, you are extremely precious to Him and He is sensitive to your needs. God promised to never leave you, to always protect you and take care of your needs. So, stand strong on the promises of God, realize the value you have, the Love God has for you and press on in Jesus’ name and remember the words to the song “Victory is mine – if I hold my peace and let the Lord fight my battles victory today is mine”.
CLOSING: - The Apple of God’s Eye serves as a profound reminder of the special relationship God has with His people. It causes you to understand that there is deep love, protection, and commitment for being the apple of God’s eye. God assures us that He watches over us with tender Loving care and will protect us against all manner of threats, harm, dangers, evils that come our way, He will never let anything come upon us no harm, hurt, or peril.
Therefore; as the Apple of God’s Eye, we should be led to a greater trust in His care of and for us, a greater gratitude for His love, and a deeper commitment to live according to His will deciding to stand firm on His word regardless of what may come our way.
You are the Apple of God’s Eye!!!!!
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
