Spiritual Blindness
“I don’t see it, Mom.”
I knew the phone was in the car. I remembered having it in my hand when I got to the parking structure.
“Go look again,” I said. My son had been outside only a short while. It was dark out there and hot. And this task was not how he wanted to spend his time, especially because he had a video game waiting. This was the third time I had sent him out to look for something I knew was there.
“You still didn’t find it?” I asked when he came back through the door.
“No,” he said, “It’s not there.”
I took my robe, slipped on some shoes, and headed to the garage. Sure enough, when I stretched out my hand, feeling around in the dark, there it was. Right where I said it would be. On the passenger seat next to mine.
Don’t we sometimes look for God the same way my son looked for that phone? Don’t we allow the darkness, the heat, the personal interests to get in the way of finding what’s been there all along? Don’t we give up too early, convincing ourselves of His absence rather than our own inability to see?
As you know by now, this is a tough season for me. The emotional highs and lows, which sometimes shift minute by minute, are nauseating. I’m like my son—in the vicinity but not seeing. I’m rooting around but not grabbing hold. But somehow, I remember to say to that hurt and scared part of me what Elisha said to his servant:
“Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)
I think about that servant, and I see myself in him. I know something about waking up early to go about my business as usual. I know something about finding myself and those I love surrounded by a real enemy. I know something about the grave concern and uncertainty about what to do next.
But I also know, even if it’s sometimes hard to see, that God is with me. So I pray for myself what Elisha prayed for his servant.
“O, Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” (2 Kings 6:17)
Friend, being a Christian doesn’t mean immunity to bouts of blindness. Being a Christian means that when circumstances arise that obscure your vision, you know Whom to turn to for clarity. It means having a word planted deep inside you that springs forth at just the right time to realign your focus. It means feeling around in the dark and grabbing onto the Light you know that you know is there.
“And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17)
Friend, heaven’s armies have formed in battle array against whatever enemy is trying to snatch your focus. God Himself commands that army. Don’t allow what is vying for your attention to divert your gaze from the love, power, and faithfulness of God. Your sight remains necessary for the building up of God’s Kingdom. If you’re blind, one less person may be reached, taught, encouraged, or loosed in the name of Jesus. If you’re blind, you can’t be about our Father’s business. If you’re blind, you forget that Jesus was right there next to you all along!
So I pray for you, too, today. May your eyes be opened to see the Truth no matter what’s real!
And if your sight is strong today, I pray that you encourage someone else to see that God is present, close at hand, and surrounding them.
Memos from the Middle 