Eye Wide Open

A few years back, my daughter wrote a tale (with a small amount of assistance) for a school project about an imaginary creature called a Cy-cat. This particular cat had only one eye that was half-opened, got frustrated with the problems in his life and ran away from home. Even his mother with the big huge eye in the back of her head did not see him run away! (Yes, laughed hard as I read her story!) Along the way, the Cy-cat met a wise Cyclop, who had one large eye wide open and spoke the truth to him about why it wasn’t a good idea to run away from his problems. After leaving this creature and deciding to follow his advice, he got lost…then the Eagle of the Lion (a.k.a. Angel of the Lord) soared over him to help him find his way back home, physically and spiritually. All of a sudden, the Cy-cat’s one half-opened eye was opened wide to the truth, and he was able to run home to his family with repentance, thankfulness and joy.


Wow, what a story! And for us, what a picture. Personally speaking, I can’t even count the number of times I have run away from my problems and my stress, whether physically, emotionally or spiritually…And it’s usually when my eyes and my heart are only half-opened to the Lord’s truths. How about you? Please think soberly about this one.

Let’s take a moment to ponder some of the physical things we run to when we have problems or stress. Maybe it’s friends….food….fitness….fashion? TV, chat rooms…..sleep?

What about our emotions? Where do they go? Maybe they roll off our tongues with anger or send us to the pit of our stomachs with guilt or worry…depression….apathy?

While we’re still on the metaphorical run, what is happening to us spiritually? As we jog back and forth, in and out of all these forks in the road in a desperate attempt to find “the way we should go,” what is the result of the vertical relationship between us and our Lord?

Last but not least, what are the things that trigger us to run in the first place? Whether it be stress or problems or persecution—or whether it be our own sin or just plain boredom, we would be wise to follow the advice of the One whose eyes AND arms are always wide open to us. According to Psalm 32:6-10, He doesn’t want us to wait until we feel the need to run. He wants us to ask and receive right now:

“Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to you while You may be found; surely when the mighty waters rise, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you…the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in Him."
Psalm 32:6-10

Let’s apply these truths as we pray to Him, hide ourselves in Him, be controlled through Him, and joyfully sing of Him today. As we continually focus on Him with the “cy-eye” of our hearts wide open, we’ll be aware of His provision for us when the mighty waters arise—and we’ll have nowhere else we’d rather run than into the extended arms of unfailing love—the arms of our Daddy. There’s no place like home.

“Father, You are my hiding place, and I rest in that fact today. Help me to take advantage of every opportunity to pray to You and to seek You first with my eyes wide open to Your truth. Help me to stay hidden with You at home where I belong… In Your Unfailing Love I rest and Your Secure Name I pray, Amen.”

In the Key of HE,