Grace and the Eyes of God

[K2CHRIST]

The Lord once showed me an interesting connection between Grace (Favor) and the eyes or the sight. One morning, while sitting in a fast food restaurant and waiting for my food, the Lord asked me to look up Grace on the Bible program on my phone. What I found was that the first eighteen times in the Bible where grace is mentioned, it is connected to the eyes or sight.

Some translation will have favor instead of grace, but check it out. It seems that if we want the Grace or Favor of God we need to get Him looking at us. So how we can get Him looking our way is an important question to ask ourselves!

Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Gen 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in they sight

Gen 32.05 ... and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight

Gen 33:08 ... these are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

Gen 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight

Gen33:15 ...let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

Gen 34:11 ... Let me find grace in your eyes
.....

Ex 33:12 And Moses said... Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight

Ex 34:09 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord

Num 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight...

Judges 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in they sight...

Ruth 2:02 Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace

And it keeps going some more. So now I know I get the Grace of God by seeking the eyes of God and His sight. So how do we get in His sight. Ruth did it by working in the field where she would be seen by Boaz. I suggest we find His grace somewhat the same way.

 

[smaller]

The Lord once showed me an interesting connection between Grace (Favor) and the eyes or the sight. One morning, while sitting in a fast food restaurant and waiting for my food, the Lord asked me to look up Grace on the Bible program on my phone. What I found was that the first eighteen times in the Bible where grace is mentioned, it is connected to the eyes or sight.

Some translation will have favor instead of grace, but check it out. It seems that if we want the Grace or Favor of God we need to get Him looking at us. So how we can get Him looking our way is an important question to ask ourselves!

Gen 6:8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.

Gen 19:19 Behold now, thy servant hath found grace in they sight

Gen 32.05 ... and I have sent to tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight

Gen 33:08 ... these are to find grace in the sight of my lord.

Gen 33:10 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now I have found grace in thy sight

Gen33:15 ...let me find grace in the sight of my lord.

Gen 34:11 ... Let me find grace in your eyes
.....

Ex 33:12 And Moses said... Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight

Ex 34:09 And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord

Num 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight...

Judges 6:17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in they sight...

Ruth 2:02 Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace

And it keeps going some more. So now I know I get the Grace of God by seeking the eyes of God and His sight. So how do we get in His sight. Ruth did it by working in the field where she would be seen by Boaz. I suggest we find His grace somewhat the same way.

If you prefer the shortcut method, understand that Grace is technically "unmerited" favor.

Perhaps observe your unmerited condition? It can be very effective to draw Gods Attentions. But perhaps not as one might always suppose. I've often prayed for "more light." I received. But not as I expected to see.

2 Samuel 22:29
For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

Believers who think they have no darkness are not apt to receive much in the Ways of His Light.

 

[K2CHRIST]

Grace is indeed unmerited favor. You will note that Ruth did not go into the field of Boaz to do works but to glean for herself. We even get God's unmerited favor even if we show up in the field to get something for ourselves. We just have to make sure we show up in His field and not that other field which leads to death. Maybe we do something while in the field, but it's not about the doing to get favor, but the showing up in front of God. So yeah, it's unmerited favor.

 

[childeye]

How do we get God looking our way? I could be wrong, but if I deliberately did something to find favor in His sight, wouldn't I look pretentious?

 

[K2CHRIST]

I wouldn't think going to church, praying, or worshiping God should hardly be called pretentious, and they would all certainly by things that would put us in His sight. Ruth, as mentioned above, deliberately went to the field of Boaz to find grace from Boaz. Perhaps that might be considered pretentious, but it was a wise thing to do. Going to church, praying, and worshiping God are also wise things to do and put us in His sight.

 

[childeye]

I wouldn't think going to church, praying, or worshiping God should hardly be called pretentious, and they would all certainly by things that would put us in His sight. Ruth, as mentioned above, deliberately went to the field of Boaz to find grace from Boaz. Perhaps that might be considered pretentious, but it was a wise thing to do. Going to church, praying, and worshiping God are also wise things to do and put us in His sight.

It's about the intention that makes it pretentious or not. I feel that if a person is going to church for need of fellowship, then it's not pretentious. But to seek God's attention so as to find favor in His eyes might well be pretentious. For example praying as a duty is pretentious, and so is worshipping as a duty, simply lip service.

The favor Ruth found in the eyes of Boaz was because she was a loving person who forfeited much to help Naomi. She entered the fields of Boaz in need of food. She hoped to find favor by asking if she could glean grain behind the harvesters. There is nothing pretentious about what she did.

 

[K2CHRIST]

The question of whether we are pretentious or not is an excellent question that we all need to ask ourselves! Being pretentious is to pretend! It is not being honest with ourselves or with God. Jesus called it acting, or hypocrisy. And He said we have to be aware of it in us. However that is not the same thing as seeking God for grace (unmerited favor). It is not hypocrisy to seek the face of God and His attention, the pretense comes from pretending to do it when we are not. Dishonesty, hypocrisy, lying, being pretentious, is not God's field, that's Satan's field.

Therefore you are right when you say praying as a duty is pretentious, or pretending, or acting, or hypocrisy, and it should not be at church. It is not seeking to get something from God or even seeking God's attention. Perhaps it is done to get attention from others, or to puff ourselves up and that would be pretentious, but is not seeking the eyes of God but the eyes of others by looking like we are seeking God. It's not the same thing and not what this thread was about. Yet it is a good question to ask ourselves, so I appreciate the comments. Thanks

 

[childeye]

The question of whether we are pretentious or not is an excellent question that we all need to ask ourselves! Being pretentious is to pretend! It is not being honest with ourselves or with God. Jesus called it acting, or hypocrisy. And He said we have to be aware of it in us. However that is not the same thing as seeking God for grace (unmerited favor). It is not hypocrisy to seek the face of God and His attention, the pretense comes from pretending to do it when we are not. Dishonesty, hypocrisy, lying, being pretentious, is not God's field, that's Satan's field.

Therefore you are right when you say praying as a duty is pretentious, or pretending, or acting, or hypocrisy, and it should not be at church. It is not seeking to get something from God or even seeking God's attention. Perhaps it is done to get attention from others, or to puff ourselves up and that would be pretentious, but is not seeking the eyes of God but the eyes of others by looking like we are seeking God. It's not the same thing and not what this thread was about. Yet it is a good question to ask ourselves, so I appreciate the comments. Thanks

I thank you for not misunderstanding. I understand your point, I just wanted to draw the distinction. Now I can say, that I'm positive that anything that we earnestly and diligently seek from God, He will give to us, so long as it is in our best interest.

We sometimes have trials and tribulations that we must endure for the sake of strengthening our faith. And His strength is made perfect in our weakness, 2 Corinthians 12:9. Therefore to ask to escape certain hardships pertaining to the exercising of our faith, is probably not a good thing to seek. Ironically, by not asking to escape such things probably gains us favor in His eyes.

 

[Jim Parker]

So how do we get in His sight.

There is never an instant when we are not in God's sight.
The phrase "in His sight" refers to God's opinion or evaluation of what we are doing.
To find grace in His sight is for our actions and purposes to be in accordance with the will of God.
It isn't about what we see. (sorry )

iakov the fool

 

[jocor]

So how we can get Him looking our way is an important question to ask ourselves!

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD (Yahweh) are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
​

Since we are made righteous through Messiah Yeshua (Rom 5:19), the eyes of Yahweh are always upon us. We don't need to get Him looking our way.

 

[K2CHRIST]

There is never an instant when we are not in God's sight.
The phrase "in His sight" refers to God's opinion or evaluation of what we are doing.
To find grace in His sight is for our actions and purposes to be in accordance with the will of God.
It isn't about what we see. (sorry )
l

I didn't think I made this thread about "what we see". I do like to stress the importance of that, but I'm not suggesting a connecting of our seeing with His seeing us.

I do like your post though. Of course God sees all that is going on, so "His sight" does indeed refer to God's opinion or evaluation of what we are doing. To get His grace then, we must be doing things that please God, like coming before Him. God wants us coming to Him, which requires a belief He exists. That is His will. That we believe in His Son, who is God.

 

[K2CHRIST]

Psalm 34:15 The eyes of the LORD (Yahweh) are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Since we are made righteous through Messiah Yeshua (Rom 5:19), the eyes of Yahweh are always upon us. We don't need to get Him looking our way.

I see what you are saying but I think we need to consider what James said to put it into perspective.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it s not accompanied by action, is dead.

We need the grace (the unmerited favor) of God to get us into heaven. So while I agree that the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and that faith in Jesus Christ (Messiah Yeshua if you prefer) makes us righteous, we don't want to forget that the faith we are talking about is going to result in some action. Not an action that merits salvation, but an action that causes Him to look at us favorably.

 

[jocor]

I see what you are saying but I think we need to consider what James said to put it into perspective.

James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it s not accompanied by action, is dead.

We need the grace (the unmerited favor) of God to get us into heaven. So while I agree that the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous and that faith in Jesus Christ (Messiah Yeshua if you prefer) makes us righteous, we don't want to forget that the faith we are talking about is going to result in some action. Not an action that merits salvation, but an action that causes Him to look at us favorably.

I totally agree. There is a righteousness that we receive through faith in Yeshua and there are righteous works we should do as a result of that faith. We don't do the works in order to be seen of Yahweh or to be made righteous or to merit salvation, but because we love Yahweh and Yeshua. The main question is, what works should we be doing? I believe one of the main works would include obeying their commandments:

Deuteronomy 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD (YHWH) our God, as he hath commanded us.
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

​

 

[Habak]

We don't do the works in order to be seen of Yahweh or to be made righteous or to merit salvation, but because we love Yahweh and Yeshua.

And all of God's People shouted, AMEN!!

The main question is, what works should we be doing? I believe one of the main works would include obeying their commandments:

Deuteronomy 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD (YHWH) our God, as he hath commanded us.
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
1John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
​

And that is why commandments are given; to help us understand what it is to be God's People:

"I will take you to be my people ..." Ex. 6:7
​

 

[K2CHRIST]

It should great to say we don't do things to be seen by God, but that is wrong. We are people and to ignore that fact is just not be honest about ourselves!

When we are hurting, certainly a wise person who believes is God will seek the attention of God so that they might get healing from Him! So they so something to be seen by God, because they want something from Him. Perhaps they pray, Perhaps they go to church to get prayer. Perhaps they also try to help out at church hoping that God will notice and see their problem and heal them. It doesn't make a difference what people think about the nobility of their actions, they are people looking and believing in God. And that is what God loves!

So we might love to shout "Amen" for what we think is the righteous way to do things, but the person seeking God's grace (unmerited favor) because they are hurting or need help from God for whatever (and not just because they love God) doesn't care about another's self-righteousness. They care about their need and they want God by His grace to help them!

I work in a healing ministry and all sorts of people show up, placing their hope in God, and it is amazing how God shows up. They come before God hoping He will just look their way and consider their needs, and He does. They find grace in His eyes. So they are wise to get themselves to where He will look at them. Most who come to the healing ministry I help in, about 2 out of 3, are church going Christians, but many are not. And God helps them whether they have been showing their love for Him or not. So again I want to point out the wisdom of seeking the Grace of God and whether you do it because of love or not..

Let me give an example. A lady came in a while back for prayer. I had gone to get her and bring her in for prayer and as I was walking with her the Lord told me she need prayer for her legs. When I asked her about it she told me it was her ankles but also her knees. We prayed for them and according to her they were a lot better, but that was not all . She was the wife of a voodoo priest. She didn't go to church, she was just desperate as all hell (I think that is an appropriate phrase in this case) for help. She was oppressed, depressed, disturbed and just overwhelmed because of her situation. She keep telling us that we needed to be concerned because her husband was so powerful. She was actually concern for us as well as herself because she had seen the power of the spirit her husband bowed down to. And then God shows up. He healed her pain in her legs. He removed the depression and oppression she felt. A smile and amazement came to her face. She said that when we started to pray for her it felt like something was coming out of her throat and she almost threw up.

Now she showed up in the field of God, spiritually speaking. She didn't do it because she love God. She didn't even understand that God was more powerful that Satan. She was just desperate and need help. So she acted on the littlest of faith, the biggest need, and a desperate hope of finding the unmerited favor of God.

If someone doesn't understand what the grace of God is, well that is a good example. We don't deserve the grace of God because of our love for Him! We get the grace of God because we show up before Him. And we show up before Him because we need Him.

Yeah we might say we do work for Him because we love Him, but we love Him because He loved us first. We had to have His grace first, my friends!! To me it seems a bit self-righteous to even think it was not that way for all of us. I think we need to stop saying amen to our thinking we do things for Him because we love Him. We do things for Him because He loved us!!

 

[Jim Parker]

I didn't think I made this thread about "what we see".

My bad. I misunderstood.

To get His grace then, we must be doing things that please God, like coming before Him.

I would suggest, "to EXPERIENCE His grace." His grace constantly flows from His throne to all creation. But He only blesses those actions which reflect His being. (Love, Mercy, etc.)

iakov the fool

 

[jocor]

It should great to say we don't do things to be seen by God, but that is wrong. We are people and to ignore that fact is just not be honest about ourselves!

When I do good works, I do NOT do them to be seen by God because I know God always sees me. I don't have to get His attention because He is always attentive to me. I believe the same should be true of all believers. That, however, may not be the case because some do not realize those truths.

I think we need to stop saying amen to our thinking we do things for Him because we love Him. We do things for Him because He loved us!!

1Jn 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
​

That does not negate the fact that we do things because we love Him. 1Jn 4:19 is stating why we love Him, not why we obey Him or how we show our love for Him.

1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

2Jn 1:6 And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you should walk in it.​

 

[K2CHRIST]

We need to stop saying amen to our thinking we do things for Him because we love Him!! We do things for Him because He loves us!!

It's not that people don't do things for God because they love Him, but that there should be a humble realization that our love for Him only came after and because He loved us first!!! So until He, by His grace, gave us that love we did not love Him. We need to humbly remember that!

It's not about the saying we don't things because we love Him; I'm saying we shouldn't be saying "Amen" to that statement. The "Amen" is putting an emphasis on our ability to love Him, and thus the emphasis on our self-righteousness. Saying we do things for Him because He loves us is giving Him the glory He deserves instead of taking it for ourselves!

Now the grace of God, according to the first 18 verses in the bible, is connect to God's eyes and God looking at us. There is a reason the Bible is written as it is. Certainly God knows all that goes on, but not all are given His grace all the time. So there has to be some time in which God specifically looks to a particular person to give that person His grace. I would think there would be a realization that we didn't love Him or do anything for Him until He look our way and gave us His grace.

Ok, some don't think that are trying to get the grace (unmerited favor) of God, but they did get it in the form or His love or they wouldn't love Him, because He loved us first. I would think we would have a deep realization that we needed and need Him, and especially because of the unmerited favor He gave us, and He can give us more grace when needed.

If a person prays, and I think a Christian should, don't they realize they are seeking the grace (unmerited favor) of God? A praying person puts themselves in a position in front of God, where He looks their way. That is usually done to get some favor (grace) from God, for themselves or for others. Maybe a person hasn't taken the time to think about it, but that is what happened. The Bible helps gives us that understanding. The Bible and our experiences with the Lord should have made us keenly aware that we need Him even for our love for Him! So all glory goes to Him, not us!

 

[K2CHRIST]

We do seek the grace (favor) of God; when we pray, when we do work for Him, when we go to church, and many other times also. But I can see that we often do not consider that is what we are doing. We say we need God and then do things for God and fail to realize what was happening. I think there is some value in realizing what is going on, so I tried to show the connection between getting God's grace and Him looking our way, but perhaps it is not that important. So I'm done with this thread. Thanks for al the comments.

 

[jocor]

It's not that people don't do things for God because they love Him, but that there should be a humble realization that our love for Him only came after and because He loved us first!!! So until He, by His grace, gave us that love we did not love Him. We need to humbly remember that!

I have no problem with that. I agree. In post #13, I was responding to your comment that, "...we don't want to forget that the faith we are talking about is going to result in some action. Not an action that merits salvation, but an action that causes Him to look at us favorably." The "faith" you mentioned comes after His love for us as do our actions or works. So when I wrote, "We don't do the works in order to be seen of Yahweh or to be made righteous or to merit salvation, but because we love Yahweh and Yeshua", it was in the context of how we respond after we are loved by Him.