God’s Awareness #2—Righteous Living

Yahweh’s eyes are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But his face is against those who do evil. 1 Peter 3:12, Psalm 34:15

As Abraham stood beneath the stars contemplating God’s promise of infinite blessings, he concluded that the creator of such a cosmos could be trusted; so he committed his future into God’s hands. God considered Abraham righteous for such a response. Not long after this, when God disclosed his plans to destroy Sodom, Abraham pleaded for the lives of any there who might be righteous; God heard his prayer and responded favorably. What does this mean for us who are righteous because we have pledged allegiance to Christ and entrusted our lives to our Creator? It means we will be able to rejoice as his extravagant kindness surrounds us. Even when evil confronts us, we who follow Jesus can be so confident that God will deliver us from our troubles that we will be fearless in our faith. We will continue to pursue the well-being of everyone we encounter because we do not fear missing out or losing out. Knowing that no one who seeks refuge in him will ever be condemned, we can continue to experiment with grace as we happily sense the goodness of God and prayerfully explore ways to extend it to others. As he is gracious to us, he watches to see how we will respond, especially in difficult situations. The Lord loves us to be righteous in the face of adversity. As we respond in faith, we can be certain we will one day see his face.

Do not withdraw your eyes from me, O God, as I live in fear of your justice and in hope of your grace.