I now can see, I have new eyes.
Faith is a mystery, plain and simple. It is not dependent upon what is seen yet it is able to influence what we see. As human beings we tend to believe what we see but as Christians we are called to believe what we do not see (Hebrews 11:1). So what exactly is the relationship between faith and sight?
Though we commonly hear Christians claim that faith should not be influenced by what is seen, I contend that it most certainly should. Yes, I understand that the source of our faith does not come from what we see but we cannot deny that how we see bears tremendously upon our faith. To ignore this reality is to leave our faith vulnerable to the unnecessary intimidations of fear and doubt. This is why it is critical that we, as Christians, learn how to see with the eyes of faith.
We see such vision at work in the Old Testament prophets. It is also found in Jesus’ prayer for his disciples to be able to “see and hear” what others couldn’t (Matthew 13). Finally, it is also in the Apostle Paul’s prayer to the Ephesian believers. He prays that the eyes of their heart would be opened so that their understanding would be enlightened (Ephesians 1:18). Something incredibly remarkable transpires in the human heart when the Holy Spirit reveals God dynamically at work in what previously only seemed ordinary or overwhelming. How do we acquire the eyes of faith?
We gain such vision when we surrender to God. For every act of surrender becomes a confession of our sin to trust fear or doubt rather than his goodness and grace. Through such confession, God meets us exactly at our point of need. Here we discover that his love overshadows what had earlier seemed so intimidating. And just like the romantic struck by love, so too does the surrendered saint see the world in a brand new light. This vision of love will strengthen our faith because God will seem nearer than ever before.
We’ll see value in people we never really liked in the past; we will see beauty in the previously mundane; we’ll see the light of hope in what formerly appeared only shrouded in darkness. Yes, the more we daily choose to surrender our hearts to God the more he’ll unveil our eyes of faith. And when he does, we won’t be able to stop ourselves from crying out, “I now can see; I have new eyes!” Next week we will talk about the importance of honesty in our transformational journey of holy surrender.
What Do You Think?
Have you ever “seen” a situation more clearly after a time of prayer or worship? What were you able to see differently and how did it impact you?
♦ To see the video and poem this post is based on, click here.
