“Deer!!!”
My friend yelled as he suddenly hit the brakes on the truck. “Where?” I asked, looking out the window. “There!” he pointed, then added, “Whoa! They’re big! And there’s a buck! Amazing!!!”
I was looking, but saw nothing. “Where do you see them?” I asked, getting a little frustrated. “They’re right over there” he said with an impatient sigh (making me feel like a wildlife novice). Finally he got a little more specific as to the location, then I saw the deer. Sure enough there were four does and one big buck standing there looking at us.
Can’t See What’s Seen?
Ever experienced the frustration of not seeing something that somebody else does? Or, the equal frustration of you being able to see something that others can’t? Either side of the equation is annoying. The Apostle Paul experienced this.
The Holy Spirit was showing Paul unbelievable things. He was shown how amazing God’s grace and justification were. He saw how God was had included the Gentiles in His great plans and purposes. But when he told people about what he was seeing, they didn’t get it. So he would say things like…
I pray that your eyes are focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers. (Ephesians 1:18, The Message)
It’s like God was yelling through Paul, “Whoa! Can’t you see this???!!!” But unlike my friend, God doesn’t impatiently point in the general direction wondering why we’re such novices. By His Spirit inside of us, He pulls our heads in the right direction so our spiritual eyes can focus on what’s important. He then says, “Look right over there. How amazing is that???!!!”
Saw Thousands of Miles, but Can’t See Five Miles
About 350 years ago a shipload of pilgrims landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness. In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward, thereby expanding the city. They exclaimed…
Who needs to go there anyway?
Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean, and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision.
Where there is no vision or prophetic insight, the people lose focus and purpose. (Proverbs 29:18, JHP)
With no spiritual insight of what we can do and/or become in Christ, even the smallest obstacle poses a serious threat to our growth and success. But with eyes of faith that are focused with prophetic insight and vision, and see beyond circumstances, no ocean of difficulty is too great!
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