“… Mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.” (Job 16:9)
Be grateful if you are “flying under the radar.” One young lady’s trouble began when she “went out to see” the girls and got spotted by one of the boys.
“And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.” (Genesis 34:1,2)
Sometimes we may wish we were more in the limelight. We would like to be noticed, we want someone to be interested in us. In order to get a little more attention or recognition we can “show off” more than we should. When King Hezekiah proudly showed off his “goods” to the Babylonians, God told him they would be returning to take them (see Isaiah 39:1-7). Not a good trade off.
When David was holed up in a cave he lamented that no man would know his soul (Psalm 142:4). But at another point he prayed that God would hide him under the shadow of His wings and keep him as the apple of His eye (Psalm 17:8). In his early days, it was primarily Saul that was gunning for him, after he came to power he had a slew of enemies that were “sharpening” their eyes upon him.
Whether it is some unsavory person putting their eyes upon us, or some meddling person putting their mind and judgment upon us, we do well to pray, “Lord, I will be happy to be unseen, unnoticed, unthought of by the wrong eyes or minds.”
Stay modest. Remain hidden until God wants to show you off. Be glad for a day of obscurity that God has orchestrated. Sometimes, a cave is not a bad thing.