“Then Elisha prayed, ‘O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!’ The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.” (2 Kings 6:17 NLT)
Fear can blind us to the presence of God and His delivering agents. When we’re so focused on all the things that can go wrong – in our lives, in our plans, in our health, in our finances, in our relationships – we blind ourselves to the goodness of God and the power of His almighty hand. Like Elisha’s servant, we focus so much on the enemies at our door, we fail to see the army of God surrounding us.
We do a similar thing when we choose to focus on all we’re not – we’re not smart enough, attractive enough, wealthy enough, influential enough, spiritual enough, faithful enough, or good enough. In our mind’s eye we fall too far short for God to ever use us in a significant way. We look at the proverbial “giants” of faith in Hebrews 11, failing to see that they had feet of clay just like us.
One of the many things I love about Jesus is His becoming eyes. Once we place our trust in Him, He doesn’t see our sin and failure and cast us aside. Rather, He sees the masterpiece He designed us to become, fills us with His Holy Spirit, and equips us to be a mighty man or woman of God. He chooses not to focus on our past, but delights in imagining our bright future with Him.
My dad was a machinist by trade but bought and sold used cars to supplement his income. I marveled at his ability to look at what I thought was a worthless piece of junk and turn it into someone’s dream car. He refused to sell a car if he knew it had anything wrong with it. As a result, people who had bought cars from him would call from other states and would buy a car sight unseen, because they trusted his judgment.
That’s why I choose to trust God with the outcome of my life. I would have given up on me a long time ago, but every time I’ve fallen or failed, His hand has always been extended to lift me up and use my bad decision to build character into my life. I think of what Jesus said to Peter in John 1:42: “Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, ‘Your name is Simon, son of John – but you will be called Cephas’ (which means ‘Peter’).”
Jesus saw Peter’s future as a “Rock” of faith as he led the early church, as clearly as He saw his failure and denial of Jesus. Like me, I suspect Peter would likely have tried with everything within him to run away from the mission the Lord designed and equipped him to lead, believing he wasn’t good enough, but, gratefully, not only for him, but for us, he allowed Jesus’ becoming eyes to draw him back.
Ron Hutchcraft wrote: “See, when Jesus looks at you, it’s through His becoming eyes. Maybe you’ve lived most of your life not feeling highly valued by people. They’ve picked on your handicaps, they’ve emphasized your failures, and they’ve attacked your weaknesses. Maybe you think more about what you aren’t than what you are.”
It’s time to take your eyes off all you’ve chosen to believe you’re not and begin to see yourself through the eyes of Jesus. He’s way past all you aren’t. His eyes are locked onto who you’re becoming in and for Him. He sees your incredible potential, just like He was able to see it in Peter, the rock. God’s power is unparalleled and unequaled, so, whatever lies the enemy is trying to get you to believe, “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face; And the things of earth will grow strangely dim In the light of His glory and grace.” (Helen H. Lemmel)
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 