Open Our Eyes

Suicides.  Drug overdose.  Addiction. 

 

Almost a year ago I remember hearing of the suicide of a 14 year old local boy.  My heart became heavy.  I believe we have become too accustomed to thinking "what you see is what you get." We take things for face value. We see a smile, we assume someone is happy.  We hear someone laugh and we assume they have joy.  This young boy was known for being friendly, helpful, and always having a smile on his face. Behind that uncracked smile was a heart that was broken.  People say that there were no signs... they judged the book by its cover and now all that is left are questions with no answers.

Tragic.

As Christians, we have been given spiritual vision. Discernment.  It is an ability to distinguish between truth and error; good and evil. It's the ability to see "behind the scenes." It's seeing through God's eyes. 

 

"God would surely have known it, for He knows the secrets of every heart." Psalm 44:21

 

You may read this Scripture and think Of course God knows all things because He is God.  When we became Christ followers, we were given the mind of Christ. As we fervently study the Word and press into prayer - we will come to know the heart of God at a whole new level.  We too can see like Him.

 

"For, "Who can know the Lord's thoughts? ...But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16

We are the body of Christ in the earth. Because we are called to be His hands, His feet, His voice - He equipped us with exactly what we need in order to do so: the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit is our Guide. He will show us things. He will deposit things within us that are the very words to unlock a hardened heart. He will give us the key to exposing the pain of a "what seems to be" happy person. He will show us things to come in order to protect us and protect others.  He will give us different strategies to reach the unsaved.  He will keep us well informed if we will just listen.

"However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come." John 16:13 

We just need to be yielded people. A people who are hungry to hear. A people who want to bring the will of Heaven to earth.  A people ready and willing at all times to be used to touch lives that Jesus said were worth dying for. Let's not drop the ball...

 

Lord, we pray that You would open our eyes into the unseen realms, open our eyes to see past the natural into the spiritual.  We pray for discernment. We pray that we wouldn't see as man sees, but that our vision would be through Your eyes. We want to touch lives. We want to save lives.  We don't ever want to miss an opportunity, a life that You want to touch through us.  We yield ourselves for Your use, Father...

Help us be a people of compassion, a people sold out to the cause of reaching others with the hope of Your Good News!  Be the words on our lips, Lord. We pray You would give us words of knowledge and words of wisdom so that we can have a word in due season for those, who like this young boy, are on the brink of giving up.

We also lift up the family and friends of those who have lost lost someone to  suicide or addiction... We pray for comfort and we pray for true peace that only comes through You.  We pray laborers would rise up during this time to reach out to the family and friends who are grieving.  May good come out of this tragedy by the lives that will be won for You.

In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Intricacies of Life

 

I was walking through a "year round" Christmas store and couldn't help but notice all of the Christmas villages on display. From afar, they looked nice, caught my eye, but when I really got up close and looked at all the intricacies of each individual piece, it made the display that much more beautiful and appreciated.

I began to think about our lives and how all too often we look at the BIG picture and we miss the "little" things. Years pass us by and all we can account for is eating, sleeping, and paying the bills ~ a life of what appears mundane when you look through it with "surface" vision. 

We do this day after day acknowledging the "existence" of people, places, and things but never noticing their beauty. We grow weary concentrating on what we don't have and miss out on the enjoyment of what is right at our fingertips.

Looking at the villages I was also reminded of a couple of verses in Psalm 139, "You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank You for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it."

When an artist puts detail into his creation: a painting, a sculpture, a writing ~ it is put there for a reason... for the observer to take notice and find enjoyment in the beauty of it...

God is the Master Creator, the Master Artist and He is into detail! Everything He has ever created is an authentic masterpiece made for not only His pleasure but for ours! BUT we have to slow down to find the joy in the NOW.

Let’s stop merely glancing over the big picture of life. Hit the “zoom in” button and you’ll discover what a fleeting look will never see.

Begin studying the individuality of your children. Love them BIG now right in the midst of their annoyances and quirks. Begin noticing the deeper things deposited within your spouse, significant other, or your friends rather than maintaining “how’s the weather” shallow encounters. Quit waiting for an “easier” or “more convenient” stage of life to live in the now. Before you know it, the chance you had is over. Everything gets pushed off for a future that never comes.

“Slow down and smell the beauty in life…” ets