Eyes on the Back of God's Head
When a lion or tiger wants to hunt its prey, it relies on the element of surprise. They seldom approach their pray from the front, because once observed, they've ruined that element of surprise, making the hunt and ultimate victory more difficult. Once observed, the big cats often give up and retreat.
In Africa, to protect themselves from lions and tigers, people wear masks with prominent eyes on the back of their heads and even paint large eyes on the back of their livestock, hoping the vicious cats will be confused, finding no clear path for surprise, and simply give up the hunt.
These big, predatory big cats will often change their behavior when they realize they are being watched.
Our great big, ominicient God has, so to speak, eyes on the back of his head. He is always watching us. Ought not this truth cause us to change our behavior? We cannot fool Him, hide our sin from Him, nor surprise Him with our sin. He sees all and knows all.
Next time you think no one is watching, just look up (and look inward!). Give up the pursuit of whatever it is you are tempted to do.
"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Proverbs 15:3, NKJV).
"Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. ..." (Psalm 139:7, NIV).
Who Will Save You When You're Under Too Long
At the at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships, two-time US Olympian swimmer, Anita Alvarez ,was finishing her "artistic" swimming routine in the solo freestyle final when she suddenly sank to the bottom of the pool.
Crowds stood stunned when they realized she was not surfacing in a timely way. Her team coach, Andrea Fuentes, herself an Olympic swimmer, frantically tried to get the attention of the lifeguards, but to no avail.
"I saw that the lifeguards were not jumping into the water because they were paralyzed. I was shouting at them from the other side to get into the water, now! I saw them looking dumbfounded, so I jumped into the water and straight towards her ... I saw how she was sinking and I swam as fast as I could. I did the fastest freedive of my life, faster than when I was preparing for the Olympics," Fuentes said according to El Pais.
It seems that Alvarez took in water on the last leg of her performance and passed out. Medical personnel were able to resucitate and treat her.
Because of her coach's quick action, she made a full recovery, and even returned to competition the following season.
Click here for dramatic video of the rescue.
One social media influencer tweeted this repsonse to the dramatic rescue:
"If Andrea would not have noticed, she would have drown. But she knew Anita. She looked for her, quickly noticed she was under too long, then dove in without thinking twice.
This has resonated with me. ...
When you are under too long, who are the people that will look for you, notice, and dive in to pull you to the surface when you lose your strength to swim? Who are the people that would do that for you?
And can someone count on you to be that person that would go looking and notice when they are under too long, diving in to support them when they are all out of fight and fuel to swim in these turbulent waters we call life? -- Original tweet by @TaraBull808, later shared on Facebook.
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity" (Proverbs 17:7, ESV).
"Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2, NIV).
"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters" (1 John 3:16, NLT).
Covering Your Tracks
During the years of “Prohibition” (1920 - 1933), when the manufacture, sale, or use of alcohol was illegal, moonshiners and bootleggers would go to great lengths to evade police notice and capture. One of their more creative strategies was to wear cow “hoof” risers attached to the bottoms of their shoes to throw law enforcement off their trail.
Nothing to see here, folks. Just a bunch of cows wondering around in these woods.
The ploy was, at least initially, fairly effective, until Law Enforcement caught on and begin taking a closer look at all those meandering cow tracks. A 1922 article published in the Florida Evening Independent reported the following
Tampa, May 27 [1922].—A new method of evading prohibition agents was revealed here today by A.L. Allen, state prohibition enforcement director, who displayed what he called a "cow shoe" as the latest thing from the haunts of moonshiners. The cow shoe is a strip of metal to which is tacked a wooden block carved to resemble the hoof of a cow, which may be strapped to the human foot. A man shod with a pair of them would leave a trail resembling that of a cow. The shoe found was picked up near Port Tampa where a still was located some time ago. It will be sent to the prohibition department at Washington. Officers believe the inventor got his idea from a Sherlock Holmes story in which the villain shod his horse with shoes the imprint of which resembled those of a cow's hoof.
Ingenious, really. But clever as they thought they were, their sin was eventually found out.
To what lengths will you go to evade being found out in your sin? In what ways are you attempting to cover your tracks? Rest assured, you too will eventually be found out.
“For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all” (Luke 8:17, NLT, cf Luke 12:2).
“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13, NIV).