Perspective.
Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things. - Colossians 3:2
Eyesight. I think it’s safe to say that all of us could agree that our eyesight is very important. All of our five senses are important, but I’d venture to say eyesight is the one most of us would choose to never live without. It brings us hope, joy, peace, comfort, and a sense of safety. However, it can also bring us despair, confusion, doubt, fear, and hopelessness, which would lead to the desire to not see at all. But all in all, it keeps us in “the know” of what is going on, helping us feel like we have some sort of control in life, which is one reason we love it.
Scripture says that “Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness.If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light (Luke 11:34-36).”
Here’s the thing. Perspective affects everything. Perspective is defined by how you view things, which essentially come through what you see/have seen - eyesight. So, our perspective affects everything which means our eyesight affects everything.
You see, so many things in this world fight for our attention, our thoughts, our desires, our purpose, and the list could go on forever. There are so many things that we look to in order to find hope, joy, strength, comfort, understanding, etc. BUT our circumstances, situations, feelings, and thoughts are constantly changing. If we try to look at them for too long, it’s as if we’ve been spinning around in circles in a nice, comfy office chair, and then try to get up and walk in a straight line. We cannot do it and it feels strange. Scripture says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is constant and never changing. He is a God of order, not of confusion and chaos. He is our hope, strength, joy, and peace. In Him alone can we find rest.
In order to further my understanding of this concept, the Lord literally blinded me from my glasses. They were nowhere to be found. For some, losing your glasses might be a common occurrence, but for me, it has never happened. As I searched for them with no luck, I was filled with confusion. This didn’t make sense. However, the Lord had me sit down and told me to rest. Stop trying to find them and figure it all out. Go on about my day and I’d find them later.
Now luckily, I can see fine without my glasses since I just have astigmatisms... and me being me, I keep my “old” pair in my car... so I was able to drop it and get out the door to church. BUT I was very aware and knew the Lord was trying to show and teach me something.
Perspective was the word He kept saying to me. For several weeks now He has been using this theme of eyes and where I am looking for understanding, hope, peace, and rest. Ministry and life have continued to throw me so many curve balls, unexpected lessons, and unaccomplished hopes and goals... but the Lord has constantly been reminding me to get my eyes off of what I see (off of the things of this world) and onto Him, His truths, and His promises.
The thing is our plans and God’s plans rarely line up, but we must choose to focus our attention on the truth of who He is and His word. Only He is all-knowing, fully sovereign, and perfectly good. We are far from it.
So, guess what, I found my glasses when I got back home. They were miraculously on my couch beneath the blanket, folded up perfectly as if they had been there all along. Now, let me inform you... I had moved that blanket off the couch and moved every pillow when searching before and they were definitely not there.
I do not believe in coincidences, only in God perfectly orchestrating events in order to help us be aware of Him and see what He’s doing, if we choose to look and see. It’s like He knows our eyesight/perspective is important. Take a minute to think about this: Where are you looking for hope, peace, rest, understanding, purpose, etc? If we don’t choose to look to God, our whole perspective on life (situations, circumstances, people, morals, actions, feelings) will be skewed.
So, what pair of glasses are you going to choose to put on today - yours or God’s?
Choose wisely and intentionally; it WILL affect everything.