You might recall the words being uttered to you in the past, especially when you were a child. What it meant was, "watch what you are doing, because I will be watching you." It usually was a warning. Beware, if you step out of line, I will know about it.
It was actually something of my experience. The community I grew up in, seemed small enough that you could virtually be assured, if you did something wrong (and interestingly it wasn't so much a matter of what you did, if it was right, it didn't seem so much to matter, it was when you stepped over the line, the boundary, in error), you would be found out. There was always some very helpful person, that out of concern, would let my parents know.
How different this is when I think in terms of God watching over me, keeping His eye on me. What a great Psalm this is:
Psalm 121 (New Living Translation)
A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth!
3 He will not let you stumble;
the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4 Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7 The Lord keeps you from all harm
and watches over your life.
8 The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.
It is such an important understanding to come too, that God is not merely interested in bringing me to task for the mistakes I make, He is purely interested in me, enough to always have His eye watching me. The Psalmist captures the essence of this a bit more by stating that God purposes to do this to keep me from harm. It reminds me of the importance of staying in tune with Him to heed the warnings He might have of impending danger or potential harm. As well as the words that might encourage me to step out in faith, the reminders that He is with me in this.
"Lord, I want that You always keep Your eye on me. Thank You for caring for me this much, to take such an interest in every activity of my life. Help me to heed Your voice as You communicate with me through this journey. Help me to be obedient to You."
