You Are The Apple Of My Eye

When You Call I Answer

Beloved, I have heard you crying out in prayer to Me; I have heard your desire crying out to hear My tender voice. I know you have need of Me and I am here to answer you. Before one sound left your lips, I came. In fact, I am ever present, ever near and always listening. I am wooed by your need to love and be loved. I am wooed by your heart like one drawn outside into the midst of a sunny spring day. When you call, I answer (Psalm 18).

I am drawn to you like the earth as it responds to the rain when it falls causing the trees to drip with moisture—causing the ground to be saturated in preparation to liberate hidden seeds into their destiny of beauty and fragrance. I have come to you in a like manner. A heavy thick blanket of My presence hangs like moisture in the air, ready to drip life into the dry places of your heart, ready to respond to the cries of your heart . . . ready to rejoice in your love for Me in spite of all odds.

The beating of your yearning heart is like a covey of geese flying over who do not withhold their praise at the faint whispers of spring wooing them—calling them home from their southern journey.

The song of longing in your heart is like the fresh buds of spring released to bring color and glimpses of verdant life into what once was the dark brown and grey of winter. Your words are like the sweet songs of birds singing about new love among the twinkling of wind chimes as the breeze of Heaven blows through the land. Yes, your words of longing, love and adoration create an atmosphere which releases the life-giving beauty of Heaven. How I love your song.

Even in the midst of your need, love abounds. Though you are weak, you are strong. Because of this, new life will emerge and show its splendor, its hope and its promise. Though the accuser of the brethren has attempted to cloud the incredible beauty of your life, spring still comes. Though the enemy has wanted you to believe at times I am far off, you still come and say it is not so.

I have seen you lay all your misgivings at My feet many times, when all seemed impossible, and climb by faith into My embrace. How you love the covenant I, your Good Shepherd, have made with you. This pleases Me; therefore, I will work what is pleasing in you, so come. Yes, come for My heart is soft toward you this day. I am listening for your song.

Let Patience Have Its Perfect Work

Beloved, be patient and let your heart cling to me—wrap itself around Me with undying love (Deuteronomy 30:20; Psalms 111:31). I will not withhold Myself from you today. Open your heart and hear My voice afresh and anew. Keep a tight grip and never let Me go. You are the delight of My very being and I will pursue you forever with an everlasting love. I am in hot pursuit of you and I will not stop . . . no, not ever. I will not leave or forsake you for My grip is secure, bought with priceless blood. I wouldn’t have paid such a high price unless I thought you were worth it. And you are.

Every investment of pain and suffering I made or endured will have its perfect work in you and release the intended benefits in your life. What I began, I will finish and bring to full completion (Hebrews 6:1). So, cry out. Let Me hear your voice, your song. Let your heart sing, for I am here to cover you with My blanket and shroud you in My love.

I can see what you cannot see. You must remember this and be patient, keeping your eyes on Me (James 1:4). Just because you don’t see the seed when it is buried in the ground doesn’t mean it isn’t there. The ability to feel or see something doesn’t validate or invalidate the truth. Truth is truth regardless of any external factors one way or the other. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11). This is something you know but need a gentle reminder of. Have faith and know I have not changed how I feel about you or My plans for you.

The steps of a righteous man are ordered by Me (Proverbs 20:24). I know your coming and going before ever a breath is taken at each dawning of a new day. I know what every seed will be before it ever responds to the rain and sun. I see the apple, not the seed. And you are the Apple of My Eye; therefore, like the seed, I see what you truly are.

I am here My love to let you know I am jealous for you and will not let you live in winter among the abundance of new life emerging everywhere. Even moments of winter are only meant to be temporary depositories of preparation, not an eternal habitation. Therefore, know this My chosen one, Winter is passed Spring has come.

My Word Does Not Return Void

Clouds gather and bring with them rain . . . My rain . . . a rain capable of transforming even the arid of lands and producing an abundance of gardens in once uninhabitable places.

I hover over you, around you with a thick heavy presence, saturating and moisturizing the dry portions of your heart. Speak My name, Jesus, over and over until you sense the oil of Heaven saturating your very being. I am imparting My very essence, like dews of freshness on tender grass. And like the grass you must absorb every molecule of who I am.

This is done by agreeing with Me and not with the contrary thoughts of your accuser. He is a liar and the father of lies from the beginning. There is no truth in him.

Like a flaming arrow, an arrow of love and freedom, I send My Word to penetrate to the very depths of your being until it accomplishes the purpose for which I send it (Isaiah 55:11). Open yourself to Me today. Do not harden your heart because of your own failings (Hebrews 4:7).

Peter denied Me three times. Did I scold, forsake or turn away? No, I didn’t. I told him to not let his heart be troubled. He responded to My kindness and goodness and went on to great and mighty things. It is no different with you. Sometimes you hold on to things I don’t even remember. Be like Peter and let go. There is too much to do. Many Words given in the yesterdays of your life are now coming to fruition.

Therefore remember, I forgive, cleanse and remove all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Respond to My Words as I have responded to the sound of your voice speaking My name. Remember My Words of love and adoration. Let them propel you into a place of intimacy such as you have never known. Take Me at My Word and you will be amazed as your house stands firm upon the rock (Matthew 7:24).

You Are My Great Love

Beloved, let go and let Me love you today as only I can. My ears are open to your cry and My eyes are on you, righteous one. The little things of life which seem to have so much power to frustrate or dissuade can be overcome. Let frustration give way to seeking Me in a place of peace until you learn to quiet yourself in any storm.

Let no failure dissuade you from trying again and again. For line upon line I am building you. Like the progression of a seed in the ground until it grows and produces its own seed, so is your progress. Each stage is beautiful and necessary. Whether you are a seed, a seedling or a full-grown tree that bears fruit, you are lovely to Me. No matter what or where you are, you are still My beloved.

Go ahead and confess the truth. You are My favorite one. I know it but you have forgotten how much this is so. Don’t compare yourself to others and what they are or are not doing. This provides absolutely no benefit to progress in Me or in My purposes for you. I could love you no more than I already do, no matter what is attained or not attained.

I have made many declarations in My Word as to how I feel and what I say you are. You are the Apple of My Eye (Zechariah 2:8). In other words, you are the center of what I see when My eyes are open and they are always open. Remember, I never slumber or sleep (Psalm 121:4).

As a matter of fact, I watch over you while you sleep with a fervent anticipation beating in My heart at the thought of your waking. Sometimes the anticipation is so great that I can’t wait so I speak to you in dreams (Job 33:14-16). Being with you is My greatest desire. You are My great love.

Oaks Of Righteousness

My eyes have scanned the horizon, viewing all the beauty of the heavens and earth only to find nothing to compare with you. I know I know I am proclaiming My adorations of love over and over, yet I must. Not just because you need to hear them, but because I love to say them.

Come join Me in a duet of mutual affirmation and love this very day. Pull aside and listen as you quiet your soul. Attune your spirit to Me and hear My still small voice radiate through the chambers of your heart. As a child gives a shiny red apple to his teacher, so give yourself to Me and I will proudly set you where all can see—where all can know you are My favorite one.

Yes, when I look at you, which is all the time, I see a tree, an oak of righteousness planted besides My streams (Psalms 1:1-3; Isaiah 61:3). You are dripping with the fresh rain of My presence and shall not whither. My glory is all around you like a thick, warm blanket.

The light of Heaven is dancing across in beams of sunlight to penetrate the moisture-laden air around you. Like the covey of geese flying through the air singing a joyous, rapturous song of coming spring, I sing over you, My love. I rustle through the wind chimes of your heart, singing a bird-like song of new love.

New growth is emerging in your life. One day you look out and the trees from a distance seem brown, yet they are teeming with new buds of life indiscernible to the eye. Next thing you know, they are an abundant display of green. So it is with you. Change your perception and do not base it on what you see or don’t see, for I have made all things new. I take every misgiving and replace them with promise.

Have a heart of praise and gratefulness. The buds of Spring are emerging and songs are being sung. Blossoms hold the promise of tomorrow’s fruit. And whether a bud or a full-grown tree, you are still the Apple of My Eye.

Prayer

My heart has cried out to You with a desire and longing to be all You say I am. My every heartbeat is precious to You. When I call out, You answer and I am made strong. I so desire my heart to be as drawn to You as You are to me. Let the rain of Your presence fill every dry place with the moisture of Heaven. Every dry place in my heart responds to You and cries out to You with longing and praise. I am homesick for Your presence—lovesick at the sound of Your voice, Your whisper.

I give my heart to You completely in every way. I cling to You. I rely on You to help me overcome and walk in truth. I focus my thoughts on the truth of Your Word and do not listen to my own misgivings or anxious thoughts. You are patient with me and I must be patient with myself as well. I know You will never, ever let me go. I turn my face to the heavens, to the Word, and like a child excited to play in the rain, I will allow myself to be drenched by Your presence. I turn my face upward and not outward. Pour into every uninhabitable place, every frustrated or anxious place and most of all; pour into every apathetic or complacent place. Soften my heart with the oil of Heaven that it might be abundant with green pastures of life and still waters of peace.

The lies of the enemy have no power over me for I have set my face like flint in Your direction. I am not ashamed. I no longer agree with the doubts and deceitful thoughts that diminish my status in You. If You don’t condemn me, who can? No one! Like Peter, You tell me to not let my heart be troubled and I won’t. I receive righteousness only found in You and take You at Your Word. I come into a place of intimacy with full confidence of what Your blood bought for me, and I stand on the Rock.

I let go of everything to spend time with You, to come into Your presence with thanksgiving and praise. I leave behind all the little irritations and frustrations that so easily beset and distract me. I make You my priority. I release every failure and misconception. I release ever disappointment over my lack of progress in any area and receive Your delight in Me. I am the Apple of Your Eye and my name is engraved into Your hand. My life is ever before You. How beautiful to be the very center of what You see. It is my desire for this truth to penetrate the very essence of my being into the core of my heart.

I receive Your presence and Your glory as it surrounds me. Dance across every feeling and emotion and bring new light and life that I may walk in a steadfast and upright way. Penetrate every analytical thought that seeks to devalue or outshine Your Word whispered to my heart. Sing a new song over me and I shall be changed. Sing a rapturous song of joy and deliverance and I shall be made new. I give my heart in thankfulness and praise for whom You are, what You have done and all You will do. I am emerging with buds to new life according to Your Word. I am indeed the Apple of Your Eye. Amen

Reflect and Journal

“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV).

For thus said the Lord of hosts, after [His] glory had sent me [His messenger] to the nations who plundered you–for he who touches you touches the apple or pupil of His eye: (Zechariah 2:8 Amplified)

1. What misgivings do you need lay at His feet?
2. Find a promise in the Word opposite of your misgiving and meditate on it. Write what He encourages you with.
3. Reflect on the times you have laid your misgivings aside and crawled into His embrace. What strength can you draw from them?
4. What did you learn from those times that give you strength today?
5. He has come to liberate hidden seeds of promise within your heart and cause you to bring forth fruit that lasts. Reflect on this.
6. What kind of words are you releasing? Are they songs of beauty or doubt?
7. Have you taken your eyes off of Him and focused on your circumstances, or even on your feelings? Faith is not based on feelings or what we can see. It is based on the eternal unchanging God. Reflect on this and journal your thoughts.
8. Have you felt things He has promised you might not be or that He has forgotten because you can’t see the seed, much less the evidence of one?
9. Reflect on the pain and suffering He endured in order for you to have His perfect work reflect through your life.
10. Can you sing over what you cannot see? Think on this and ask Him to give you a song.
11. Have your own failings or unmet self-expectations caused you to look down upon your own heart?
12. Have you hardened your heart in any way?
13. Ask Him to show you, and then release all to the One who delights at the mere mention of His name.
14. Ask Holy Spirit to stir up in your heart some of the Words He has given you in the yesterdays of your life. Write them down and meditate on what He said. Give Him time to show you what He wants to do. Journal His whispers to you.
15. You are His great love, His favorite one. Let these words sink in and transform your thinking.
16. Journal what it means for you to be His favorite one.
17. In what ways have you been comparing yourself to others? Does it seem you always come up short?
18. Reflect on being the apple of His eye and write what this means to you—what it means for Him to always have you in the center of His view.
19. Take a moment and bask in His presence. Ask Him to dance His light of love and revelation in and through your heart. Then stop and listen. What is He saying?
20. He wants to present you to those around you like a child would an apple to his favorite teacher. This implies love, adoration, respect and the desire to please. What does such a love mean to you personally?
21. Relationship with the Lord is a mutual demonstration of love in harmony and can express itself like a duet. He is asking you to join Him in a one of a kind song known only to you and Him. Are you willing? If not, what is holding you back? Write whatever it is down and choose to let go and embrace His Word over your own misgivings or doubts.
22. Take some time and write Him a love letter of adoration in response to this Word and accept all He says about you.