Seeing God's Purposes Clearly

When I finished mowing the lawn I noticed that the vision in my left eye was blurred. I didn’t think much of it at the moment figuring that it was just some dust. Later I realized that even when I washed out my eyes the blur remained. My eye was watery and irritated. My conclusion? Apparently, something blew into my eye causing a scratch that needed to heal.

This all made me think about my spiritual vision which has been blurred by the ‘stuff’ of life recently. I have found myself working to sort through conflicting ideas thrown at me by the culture in which I live, trying to make sense of major shifts in values in the world around that make no sense to me, and dealing with angst about the future. Those things are like dust that obscure the promises of God, which blur my vision for His purposes and will. So, I pray that God will wash the dust out of my spiritual eyes and restore unclouded vision!

Paul was inspired by the Spirit to warn of blurry vision. He said that God reveals His majesty to us in the wonder of Creation. Will we see it? Here’s the text - 
"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." (Romans 1:20-21, NIV)  

The cure for blurry vision is the choice to offer our praise and worship with honest gratitude. When we speak of His wonders, when we offer ourselves in worship, He renews our vision.

Have you become so taken up with the trials and challenges of life that you have lost sight of the big picture? Have you fallen into a pattern of complaint and negativity that obscures the reality of God’s love for you?

Don’t panic. Pause! Take a worship break. Quiet your mind and pick up the Scripture. Turn to a familiar passage of promise: a Psalm, or the rich words of Ephesians that are full of grace, or the revelations of Jesus in the first three chapters of the Revelation – and give thanks to God for HIS steady, unchangeable ways, for His love that never fails, and the dust of doubt will be washed away.

Peter says, “prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1) We have a responsibility for our focus. Martin Luther reminded Christians of the blessings of choosing our thoughts.
He said, “You can't stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.”  When the focus of our thoughts is on Jesus, the Spirit will lead us to the serenity Jesus said is His gift to us. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)

So…. What do you see this morning?
-about the core purpose of your life?
-for your children's future?
-about finding a way to honor God in what you do as your daily work?
- about making Jesus and His Kingdom visible in this darkened world?

Keeping sharp vision requires constant effort. It is worth it! Without clear and God-formed sight we will quickly become mired in mediocrity, or turn into a burnt-out shell, which will cause us to leave the work of God undone, and the peace of Christ unknown..

Here is the word from the Word. “No one lights a lamp and then hides it or puts it under a basket. Instead, it is put on a lampstand to give light to all who enter the room. Your eye is a lamp for your body. A pure eye lets sunshine into your soul. But an evil eye shuts out the light and plunges you into darkness.
Make sure that the light you think you have is not really darkness. If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight is shining on you.”
(Luke 11:33-36, NLT)