Blurry Vision?

 

A few months ago my left eye became clouded, a blurry spot in the center of my field of vision. It was a frustrating thing. When I visited the retina specialist fearing a diagnosis of something being seriously wrong with my eye, he examined me thoroughly and told me that the fluid that filled my eyeball had little ribbons of matter floating in it which were causing the issue. He told me that in all likelihood it would clear up without further intervention. It did, but the weeks in which I had to deal with reduced vision gave me a new appreciation of the gift of sight.

So, how’s your vision, not your eyesight, though I hope that it is sharp and clear, but rather your outlook on life?

Do you see the situations of life as they are or through the clouded lens of self interest or wishful thinking?

Do you grasp the opportunities that are coming your way or is your vision so limited that you are just plodding along?

Are you connecting the reality of the Spirit with your daily walk?

There is a tiny phrase tucked into the Chronicles of the people of God. The sons of Issachar were commended as those “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.”  (1 Chronicles 12:32, NIV) They were leaders because they had clear vision of reality and a grasp on real solutions. “Vision” is not just an issue for Presidents, CEO’s, or those in leadership positions. We need to see life clearly, know the possibilities and problems with which we are dealing, and ‘see’ the way forward. We do not have to stumble along, confused, just trying to cope with the things of life as they come at us seeming ‘out of nowhere.’ 

God, the Holy Spirit, offers us the gift of vision!

However, we will suffer from impaired vision if we fail to worship faithfully, regularly, and from the heart. We will have a clouded view of life unless we learn to meditate on the things of the Lord, praying often and sincerely. We will wander without real purpose if we see only this day and give our best energies to trying to find momentary happiness.

Pastor Kris Vallotton offers this provocative word about three aspects of vision.  “True Godly vision consists of foresight, insight and oversight that come from His sight. Foresight is like looking at life through a telescope. This outlook allows us to know what is ahead as it connects us to our future. Foresight is the element of vision that helps life make sense and gives us motivation …  Insight is like viewing life through a microscope. This perception gives us an understanding of why things happen in life. It also helps determine the underlying motivations of the heart. Oversight puts life into context. It is like flying over our house in a helicopter.”

Even good and devout people sometimes lose sight of what’s best, content to simply let life happen, living just to get to the next weekend. Are you without vision, just existing?  One great choice you can make to break that cycle is to take some time to retreat, to pray.  A long conversation with someone who loves you enough to ask the hard questions, to help clarify your vision can be of great worth.

Seek clear vision!  Like the sons of Issachar apply yourself to one “who understands the times and knows what you should do.”   You can be equipped by the Spirit to accept the blessings and deal with the challenges. You do not have to be brilliant to know the wisdom of the Spirit. The Word tells us that "God has actually given us his Spirit (not the world’s spirit) so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us." (1 Corinthians 2:12, NLT)

The word from the Word invites us to clear vision for life. May the Spirit make these words alive for you and me.

"When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But, whoever obeys the law is joyful." (Proverbs 29:18, NLT)

And, then these words of Jesus, given to His disciples about the opportunities for spiritual harvest in what they only saw as barren fields. "Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest. The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! You know the saying, ‘One person plants and someone else harvests.’ And it’s true." (John 4:35-37, NLT) \

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

Abba, as we make our way through life clear our vision.

Stir us to take in the opportunities that come our way –

to care lovingly for others,
to bring Your Presence and peace to difficult and dark places.

 

Keep us from plodding along, defeated and discouraged,

seeing only the stones that lie on our pathway.

 

Call us, gently and persistently, to see You at work,

to become people who “who understand the times and know what we should do.”

In this may we make Your praises great,
Your radiance bright,

and live in the peace of Christ. Amen

 

How are your eyes?

 

It’s been my privilege to visit Pike’s Peak in Colorado several times.  That massive mountain, which towers to 14,115 feet, overshadows a person. The same mountain provides a perch on the world at her summit; her sister mountains poking into the sky to the west, the wide flat plains spread out to the east. Two people reporting a visit to the mountain, one from the foot of it, one from the summit, will tell very different stories. Is just one person telling the truth? No, it is called perspective!  Our experiences and worldview also play a big part in shaping how we will interpret what we see.  

In the opening lines of his letter to the Ephesians (and to us!) Paul includes this prayer: "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." (Ephesians 1:18, NIV)  He asks God to give us faith-filled vision.

How are your eyes?

Do you see as God sees?

Are the choices of your life shaped by an eternal perspective?

The story of David, the Shepherd King of Israel, begins with Samuel’s trip to Jesse’s home, sent there at God’s direction. King Saul had become a rebel, full of pride, resistant to the LORD’S leading in his life, and new king was to be anointed. "When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”  Eliab had the bearing of a leader, a first-born son. Samuel’s trip had been a success, or so the old prophet thought. “But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”(1 Samuel 16:6-7, NIV)  How differently God sees! 

One by one, Jesse’s sons stood before Samuel, but the Spirit said “No” repeatedly, seven times in fact.  I cannot help but smile at the next part of the story. "So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered, “but he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent and had him brought in. He was ruddy, with a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.” (1 Samuel 16:11-12, NIV)  

David, the baby in the family, did not enjoy much standing apparently. He was left out in the field with the flocks even when the prophet of Israel came to visit!  But, he was God’s choice. God saw something in David that no one saw. To be sure, as we get to know this boy, he does reveal an amazing faith, a tenderness towards God. In his lifetime he manages to mess up badly, too, but his heart was good, so much so that he is called ‘a man after God’s own heart.’

If we want to live faithfully, if we desire to know God’s joy and peace, we must see as He sees, our vision informed by the heights of His eternity. We cannot just live for the moment. We must not judge our success or failure from an earthly point of view. I am reminded of Paul’s declaration about life – “if only for this life we have hope, we are of all people most miserable!”  Christ’s call to selflessness, to service, to take us our cross (a way to say die to Self), makes little sense in the immediate. 

The perspective of the rich fool in the Gospel makes far more natural sense to us: “Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die.”  God promises us a home in His Presence forever and with that perspective life is changed.  Paul, after a life of faithful service, was sitting in a Roman prison, but he writes to Timothy – “I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.”  (2 Timothy 1:12)

Pray for godly vision. Pray for ‘eyes of faith’ to see as God sees. The beautiful hymn says it this way:

Be Thou my vision,
O Lord of my heart.
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art!
Thou my best thought
By day or by night;
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light.

The word from the Word is one of my beloved prayers of the Bible, a fuller context of the fragment I quoted a moment ago.  I pray it for you, today, my friend, that your ‘vision’ will be godly.  "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come." (Ephesians 1:17-21, NIV)  Amen

(Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light

Be Thou my wisdom
Be Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling
And I with Thee one

Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance
Now and always
Thou and Thou only
Be first in my heart
High King of heaven
My treasure Thou art

High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all

 

Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne

© Words: Public Domain

With all the best of intentions

 

Starting something for all the right reasons and losing sight of the true goal is an all too common issue for us, isn’t it?  When I started in vocational ministry all those years ago, my desire was to fulfil God’s call as a faithful shepherd of His flock. Gradually, “church leadership” seeped into my mind and replaced pastoral vision.  Big name preachers, books, and conferences convinced me that real success in ministry was measured by numbers in the church building on Sunday. Church growth replaced ‘making disciples.’  It’s not that effective leadership is unimportant but being the best administrator of church business or a great creator of programs is not the core calling of a pastor!

Thankfully, I regained the right perspective.  In another season in life I allowed the message of the Gospel to be compromised with psychology and ‘self-help.’  While it is great to understand why we act the way that we do, I realized that the Gospel is about transformation of the individual by Christ Jesus. The Good News I preach is not just about learning how to marginally improve our behavior!

Is there some place in your life where you have become distracted or confused?

Did you start out with Christ with all of the best intentions only to become coldly religious?

Were you once focused on loving Jesus and now you are just a cog in the church ‘machine?’

Getting faith misfocused from God to people, from a pursuit of Christ to a performance for people, is not only possible, but common. Jesus spoke to the Pharisees of His time harshly. They were people with the best of intentions, wanting to be holy and God-pleasing, but they had become misfocused on gaining the admiration of others. He called them ‘hypocrites’ and ‘white-washed tombs’ that sparkled on the outside, but full of death!

He teaches you and me to keep our eyes on the right place. “Take care! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired, because then you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. …  When you pray, don’t be like the hypocrites who love to pray publicly on street corners and in the synagogues where everyone can see them. I assure you, that is all the reward they will ever get. But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father secretly. Then your Father, who knows all secrets, will reward you." (Matthew 6:1,5-6, NLT)

The late Eugene Peterson wrote “When we take the truth of God and use it in superstitious or manipulative or prideful or selfish ways, that is religion. Its opposite is gospel, the truth of God heard in the power of Christ, listened to in faith, responded to in discipleship. People always hear the Gospel and try to turn it into religion and God keeps on calling us back. … for as long as people try to make a religion without God and achieve wholeness without faith, the Preacher’s work must be repeated. He says "Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few." (Ecclesiastes 5:2, NIV)

Join me in a humble prayer for a renewed focus on the ‘right Person,’ so that our faith will be a vibrant, inviting, fulfilling one. The paradox of true faith is that our behavior is changed, not by duty but by delight!  “Love God and do whatever you please: for the soul trained in love to God will do nothing to offend the One who is Beloved.” — Saint Augustine

Here is the word from the Word. May the Spirit make it truth to live by.  "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4, NIV)

 (Video of this blog at this link)

____________________

 The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In ev'ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

His oath His covenant His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

 

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

 

Edward Mote | William Batchelder Bradbury

• © Words: Public Domain