Seeing and Watching

By Maureen Pranghofer

Psalm 33 NLT

13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees the whole human race.

18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.

As I was reading through Psalm 33 I noticed that in one verse the Lord sees the whole human race but a few verses after that He is watching.

I said, “Lord, what is the difference between seeing and watching?” I do not have the means to study the Hebrew meaning behind words so have no scholarly interpretation of the literal meaning of these words, but immediately after asking the Lord this question I had a picture in my mind.

I heard the sound of children at the nearby elementary school playground just a block or so away from my home and pictured the Lord looking down on the whole playground seeing every child. But there were a couple of kids that were singled out. He was saying things specifically to them like “Don’t run that direction” and “Watch out there’s wet paint”.

And that was it. While He was seeing everyone He was interacting with the ones He was watching.

I don’t know what this all means and if it has any validity at all, but I loved the thought that then came to me. I am one of the watched ones who the Lord has protected and spoken specifically to for so many years. I pray for all of you as you deepen your walk with the Lord you will feel that He is more than just seeing you but watching.

Thank You Jesus for always watching over each one of us. Amen.