I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19
As I sit down to write, I am anticipating cataract surgery for my right eye in the morning. Lord willing, by the time this is posted I will have had successful surgery and will be healing. I went through this process a few months ago with my left eye. It healed well and my vision in that eye is much better. I hope to have the same result this time. While I look forward to the outcome, I do not look forward to the process. As surgeries go, this isn’t too bad. However, the annoyance of the intended injury that will need to heal, the irritation during the healing process and the restrictions to my lifestyle are slightly frustrating. While experience is somewhat painful and tiring, the benefit of visual clarity will certainly worth the inconvenience. As I look back over my life, I find that the same is true with my soul. The trials that I have experienced have all been beneficial. While they have forced me to tolerate some mixture of physical, emotional and/or spiritual pain, they have all yielded varying degrees of godly clarity and perspective. In short they have redirected my focus, drawn me closer to God, opened my heart to understanding and provided a measure of wisdom to help and encourage others.
Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:16) Significant pain, in whatever form it takes, will usually do one of two things; it will cause us to be embittered or it will cause to look beyond ourselves to God. In this passage, Paul is referring to the Israelites who were not devoted to God and therefore had a veil over their eyes. They could not see beyond themselves and therefore missed the blessings of God and the hope that He desired for them. However, when we turn to God, He lifts that veil and allows our perspective to change and shows us what is before us. If I have the same results with this surgery as I had the last time, I will be far sighted with great clarity. I look forward to that. However, as good as that is, what I truly desire is spiritual farsightedness. When I am focused on the pain in my body, the management of personal assets, and the stress of life, it’s easy to become frustrated, shortsighted and short tempered. However, when my focus is on God, His plans, His path, and eternity with Him, I make better decisions, I walk more closely with Him and I have more hope and joy. Sadly it often takes the pain of trials to redirect our gaze from our circumstances to God, the hope that lies before us and the opportunities that God provides for us to share the gospel in both word and deed.
How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. (Psalm 65:4) When our gaze is shifted to God, His plan for us and the hope that He provides, we can’t avoid being drawn to Him. Not only do we recognize the change in our hearts and minds, but we also see how He has been patiently waiting for and watching over us ready to bind our wounds causing us find satisfaction in Him. In the end, we find blessing and goodness as we see that God has invited us into a deeper relationship with Him that brings both joy and reassurance.
Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18) When we turn to God in our painful experiences, He often uses our openness to gain a better understanding of Him and what He desires of us. Because we are turning to Him and relying on Him, the Holy Spirit is free to “lift the veil” and provide greater insight in to God’s law. Sometimes it is in the understanding of a passage of scripture while at other times it may be a practical exercise of what we know intellectually. When my father-in-law was dying, God used that experience of helping to care for him and grieving the loss to open my heart to a better understanding of the book of James. When my father was dying, God used the experience as a vivid lesson in both endurance and patiently waiting on God to provide. I do not care to repeat either of those circumstances, but I am very grateful that God used very dark moments in my life to provide clarity, discernment and understanding in a way that will not easily be forgotten. When we allow our trials to “open our eyes”, we more easily behold truly wonderful things that God has to teach us.
You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:5) To be sure, Christ was giving a severe reprimand in this passage for those who are prone to judging others…especially when they have not taken good look at their own lives. That said, I believe that there is also a softer side to this reprimand. That is, when the “speck” has truly been removed we have better clarity and insight to help our brothers and sisters to do the same. Further, the pain that we endured during the extraction provides greater sensitivity to the needs of those we seek to help. A godly widow is more capable to help the newly widowed grieve with grace rather than bitterness. Those who have “conquered” an addiction or particular variety of sin are better able to help those seeking to do the same. Those who endure the ongoing stress of chronic illness with a godly perspective are more suited than those who have never been ill to help and encourage others as they do the same. Put another way, the painful extraction of our entitlements, ungodly habits and sins allows us the clarity and empathy necessary to come along side another to advise, assist and encourage others as they yield to God and endure their own refinement.
A little over 48 hours later, my surgery appears to have been successful. My bifocals have been set aside in favor of a pair of reading glasses. While still irritated, my eye seems to be healing well. However, I have been warned that cataracts may return. In the future, my new lenses may need to be cleaned with a relatively simple procedure akin to window washing with a laser. The point is that maintenance may be required. Similarly, just because God has shifted our focus, drawn us close, given us new understanding and provided the tools to help other, does not mean that we don’t need spiritual maintenance. God has been lovingly teaching and molding us, but we must to our part to continue to grow in grace and mature. By maintaining a strong bond with our Father, our Savior and our Comforter, we keep our hearts and minds open to more teaching and greater understanding that provide the necessary clarity to live well until the day we abide with Him and receive perfect spiritual vision.
May the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know the hope of His calling.
Will