“Keep me as the apple of your eye…” (Psalm 17:8)

There is a deep human tendency to over-value our achievements. For example, in the movie Rocky, the hard-working boxer’s girlfriend asks him why it is so important for him to “go the distance” in the ring. “Then I’ll know I’m not a bum,” he replies.

In the movie Chariots of Fire, one of the main characters explains why he works so hard at running the hundred-yard dash for the Olympics. He says: “I have ten lonely seconds to justify my existence.”

These two characters looked to their sport as the defining force that gave meaning to their lives.*

In a sense, I get it. In a world of uncertainty, achievements are very tangible. It’s easy to look at a trophy, degree or job title and conclude that they mean more than they do. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not without meaning. But it’s easy to lose perspective and think that’s all there is.

The “defining force” in your life, however, is the love of God. He made you. In fact, he made you in his own image (Genesis 1:27). In his eyes, you are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). In Christ, he chose you before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and gave his life for yours on the cross (John 3:16). He made you for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and to shine as the light of Christ in the world for his glory (Matthew 5:16). When you ask forgiveness from sin, he gives it to you—freely (1 John 1:8-9). After all, you have been adopted by him (Ephesians 1:5). His Spirit lives within you (1 Corinthians 6:19). He brings good out of bad (Romans 8:28). Oh, and he will fulfil his purpose for your life (Psalm 138:8) and will be with you always (Matthew 28:20).

Our achievements—and even our lack of achievements—can have a big impact in our lives and upon our thinking. But they aren’t the only thing there is.

You belong to the Maker of heaven and earth. The fact that you are his is more significant than whether you have (or don’t have) the admiration or condemnation of the world. 

In Psalm 17, David is clearly in distress. Problems and enemies are everywhere. His achievements are threatened. Despite all this, he knows that he is the apple of God’s eye (verse 8). His prayer to the Lord ends in verse 15 with a perfect reminder for all of us—that, in the end, the most important thing is that we belong to God no matter what: “As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.”

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Notes:

-*Recounted in: Timothy Keller, The Reason for God: Belief in the Age of Skepticism (New York: Riverhead Books, 2008), 169.
-Bible quotes are from the ESV.