Casandra Martin

Psalm 119:17-24

Did you ever play hide and seek as a child? Most people like to be hiders. Very few people enjoy being the seekers. When you hide, you get to hurry around in search of the best place of concealment. You listen carefully for the seeker, holding your breath as they pass by you, hoping that they don’t discover your secret place. There is disappointment if you’re found, but triumph if you remain undiscovered. The seeker, on the other hand, has to close their eyes and count. When they reach 100, they have to do the hard work of searching out the hiders. Victory comes when you discover what has been hidden.

In the third stanza of Psalm 119, the psalmist asks God for open eyes. God doesn’t hide Himself from us, nor is His word a secret. But I still have trouble seeing. Distractions, worries, busyness, pleasures, and enticements make it difficult for me to always see and appreciate the riches of God’s word. Sometimes I read His Word, but fail to really see the beauty it contains. Sometimes I read His Word, but resist surrendering to the transformation it calls me to embrace. And to be honest, sometimes I just want to hide from His voice and do my own thing.

“Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

God wants to turn us into seekers. He wants us to search out the wondrous things, amazing truths, deep treasures, and startling beauty that are contained in His Word. He wants us to have hearts that hunger to find His gifts, to enjoy His blessings, and to delight in His wisdom.

My Jesus Resolution today is to pray for open eyes. What might happen if I made Psalm 119:18 my prayer each time I opened my Bible? God wants us to open those pages anticipating being awestruck, challenged, inspired, pierced, and changed. Too often, I open my Bible with my own agenda, hiding my heart from the God who seeks me out. Today I want to be a seeker, and open my eyes in wonder at how God reveals Himself to me in His Word.