Close Your Eyes

Can you see?

Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart on a flat surface. Close your eyes. You’ll feel your ankles and feet adjust as you work to balance. It’s an uncomfortable for most of us.

For some, though, the lack of sight actually helps them see better. We rely so much on what we can see to find direction, keep our balance, understand our surroundings, and communicate – you know, those non-verbal cues we get from folks as they roll their eyes, smile with their mouth but not their eyes, cross their arms, and a number of other things. Our sight becomes something we can’t imagine doing without.

And yet, people all over the world operate without their sight every day. Whether they have not had sight since birth or lost their sight somewhere along the way, they have learned to adapt and, truthfully, they can see sometimes much better than we do WITH our sight. It’s true!

People who don’t have sight see so much more.

They hear and feel things the rest of us miss. They can hear subtle undertones, feel sounds as much as they hear them, and find balance in the most remarkable ways. They see things those with sight miss every day. Not being able to see makes their other senses come to life that much more.

As we look at the coming year, videos streaming with world happenings, words printed on pages, and pictures of chaos can be overwhelming. Our eyes behold a world that seems overrun by hatred, evil, bitterness, and fear.

But close your eyes, take away the visual of the physical world, and the senses open up. We start to hear the words of the Lord, feel his presence, and trust his Spirit. Today, no doubt, some of us feel much like Elisha’s servant, overwhelmed by the evil that seemed to surround them. Elisha prayed that the servant’s eyes would be open – not to the physical threat that was before them, but to the heavenly forces that were at work. (2 Kings 6)

Our world today is no different than the world Elisha faced. The things of this world are still present. We face them every day on the news, in newspapers, and via our online sources of news and social networks. My prayer is that we would take a moment and close our eyes.

This is not a moment to put our head in the sand, but to seek out the voice of truth and hope. We need to hear HIS voice, to feel HIS spirit. God is still at work, my friends, in ways we could never imagine. The current climate of our world is no surprise to the God of it all.

Has he lost control? Is it beyond his power? NEVER.

Do we still have a purpose? Can God still use us here? ALWAYS.

Scripture tells us, we “walk by faith not by sight” (2 Corinthian 5:7), that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1), and to “look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18). He wants us to “see” (know) the things of God – his heart, his will, his actions.

He doesn’t want our head in the sand. He wants our ear to his Word. Instead of simply seeing the chaos, are we seeking his heart?

We have a purpose. Here. Today.

Our calling is the same as Paul’s when the Lord spoke to him at Damascus: “To open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me (Christ).” (Acts 26:18)

The Lord is calling us to share hope, peace, joy, life with all those we encounter – things that only come from God himself. This is an opportune time to do so.  

Close your eyes. Listen for his voice.

You’ll be amazed at how your other senses multiply – the balance you’ll find, the hope you’ll taste, the discernment you’ll feel, the wisdom you’ll hear.