“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:6–7, ESV)
A young man lost his eyesight in a farm accident. He was distraught. His family heard him sobbing at the hospital every time they walked in. Within days, he told his doctors that he just wanted to die. Withing a couple of weeks, he slipped in and out of severe depression. Then, he stopped talking altogether.
After coming home from the hospital, the young man locked himself in his room for days at a time, even refusing to eat on many occasions. After a little over a month, the young man’s mother asked their pastor what could be done to help. The pastor thought a few moments, then said to her, “Tomorrow, I’ll send over a friend. She will chat with Peter if that is OK?” With no good options, the mother was willing to try anything that would help. She made arrangements for the visitor.
The next day, a young woman of seventeen came with an older gentleman to see Peter. The woman's name was Josie. Josie tried to start up a conversation with Peter. He gave her one-word answers and little more. Finally, Josie asked, “Peter, did you know I am blind?” Peter did not know that. He sat up in his bed and asked, “I hate being blind. I can’t do anything. I can’t see anything. You know what it’s like.”
Josie’s response surprised Peter. She said, “I feel sorry for people who aren’t blind. They miss so many things! My father will look out the window and only see our tree. I can hear a bird playing on one of the branches. I can even tell by its chirping what kind of bird it is! My father often cannot hear it. Sometimes, he can’t even see it! In my mind, I can see it. Right now, I can tell your mother is praying in the next room over. You haven’t eaten breakfast yet. You haven’t showered yet! There is a car pulling in the driveway next door. And, your room needs cleaning! There are so many things going on around us that seeing people can’t perceive. They often use their eyesight while ignoring other senses like hearing and smelling and touch. Since I have been blind, I have noticed so many more things going on around me because my other senses enable that. People call me disabled but, in many ways, I am more enabled that disabled!”
With those words, the floodgates were opened. Peter talked about his fears, his worries, what it was like to be blind, and asked how to cope. Over the next few visits with Josie, Peter became aware that when he lost his eyesight, his other senses become more attuned to his surroundings. Peter learned to lean on those other senses that he took for granted before his accident.
Every person learns when young to rely on their senses. So often, they tend to rely on one or two more than the others. Those senses they rely on tend to become heightened. Those senses they do not use as much become weakened. For example, a baker learns to use her senses of taste and smell very often. She can tell if a cake has risen. She can tell if batter is missing an ingredient. However, that same baker might not use her sense of touch or sight as much. These senses will weaken with time. A mechanic often uses his sense of sight to see if a bolt head is 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch or needs a special wrench to remove. He will become so adept at noticing small distinctions in size that just looking at a bolt, he can tell you which wrench is best for the job. But that same mechanic may grow so used to the smell of gasoline that he may not realize when his gas can springs a leak. Again, people’s senses are heightened or weakened depending on their use or abuse.
The scripture for today is a reminder that one sense must be heightened for every faithful child of God. You need to develop a spiritual sense. Those who do not develop that sense will often lose the abilities the spiritual sense provides. You use it or you lose it! 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 explains this well. The author, Paul, wrote that being human, when “we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord”. The danger in being at home in the body is that we might rely too strongly on the sense of sight instead of leaning heavily upon the sense of faith. Paul urged his fellow believers to learn to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In the same way that Josie explained to Peter that he needed to rely on his other senses when blind, Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that they needed to rely more heavily on faith instead of sight, spiritual insight more so than physical eyesight.
One of the main causes of near-sightedness or far-sightedness is a weakness of muscles around the eye. Especially as people age, they tend to use these muscles to change the focus of the eye less and less. Thus, they develop near-sightedness or far-sightedness. A person who doesn’t use his or her “spiritual muscles” will be weak in spiritual insight. That person will not be able to perceive spiritual things that will be obvious to another who has honed spiritual gifts.
I attended a meeting of individuals involved in spiritual formation. At that meeting, they discussed a retreat planned for the coming month. The meeting room contained musicians, bakers, pastors who would do Bible Studies, helpers to serve the food, workers who would set up the various gathering places, worship leaders, and others involved in the retreat. I only knew one other person at that meeting, a friend who drove us there and was a counselor. We were in the room for only a few minutes when I asked my friend, “What can you tell me about that woman over there?” He told me which church she was from, shared her responsibilities for the retreat, and offered to introduce me. I replied, “No, that’s OK. I just get a feeling in my soul that something isn’t right in her soul.” My friend replied, “Well, you aren’t wrong there. She lost her husband suddenly four months ago and has struggled with depression ever since.”
My eyes could see the woman before me was full of smiles and laughter and excitement to be a leader at the retreat. However, my soul was picking up that she might need to speak to me about her loss, if the timing was right. At one point during the retreat, I saw that woman alone. I sat next to her. An hour later, I stood up and hugged her. Her eyes were teary, but her smile was thankful. During that hour, she had opened up about her loss and we had prayed together. I felt part of my being at that retreat was to help her heal from her husband’s death. My spiritual senses led me right to where God needed me most.
If you do not learn to hone your spiritual gifts and insight, you will lose your ability to be God’s special servant in service to Jesus Christ. When God needs you to step into a situation, you may not be able to see with spiritual insight what is really going on. You might rely on your physical eyesight while missing spiritual cues. This will result in your misreading of a situation or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
You need to learn to operate more often by faith, less by sight. You need to discern God’s voice among all the noises near you. You need to pick up on the Holy Spirit’s gentle push, even while the world is shoving you around. You need to trust that God’s ways are right even when your friends might be leading you down a wrong path. It’s not easy to walk by faith, but you need to develop the knack. Otherwise, you will be blind to the Spirit’s leading, and oblivious to God’s work to pave the way for miracles to happen!
Every day, flex your spiritual muscles. Pray in the Spirit. Rely on the Word of God. Don’t overlook God’s voice. Trust Jesus’ leading. Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
After coming home from the hospital, the young man locked himself in his room for days at a time, even refusing to eat on many occasions. After a little over a month, the young man’s mother asked their pastor what could be done to help. The pastor thought a few moments, then said to her, “Tomorrow, I’ll send over a friend. She will chat with Peter if that is OK?” With no good options, the mother was willing to try anything that would help. She made arrangements for the visitor.
The next day, a young woman of seventeen came with an older gentleman to see Peter. The woman's name was Josie. Josie tried to start up a conversation with Peter. He gave her one-word answers and little more. Finally, Josie asked, “Peter, did you know I am blind?” Peter did not know that. He sat up in his bed and asked, “I hate being blind. I can’t do anything. I can’t see anything. You know what it’s like.”
Josie’s response surprised Peter. She said, “I feel sorry for people who aren’t blind. They miss so many things! My father will look out the window and only see our tree. I can hear a bird playing on one of the branches. I can even tell by its chirping what kind of bird it is! My father often cannot hear it. Sometimes, he can’t even see it! In my mind, I can see it. Right now, I can tell your mother is praying in the next room over. You haven’t eaten breakfast yet. You haven’t showered yet! There is a car pulling in the driveway next door. And, your room needs cleaning! There are so many things going on around us that seeing people can’t perceive. They often use their eyesight while ignoring other senses like hearing and smelling and touch. Since I have been blind, I have noticed so many more things going on around me because my other senses enable that. People call me disabled but, in many ways, I am more enabled that disabled!”
With those words, the floodgates were opened. Peter talked about his fears, his worries, what it was like to be blind, and asked how to cope. Over the next few visits with Josie, Peter became aware that when he lost his eyesight, his other senses become more attuned to his surroundings. Peter learned to lean on those other senses that he took for granted before his accident.
Every person learns when young to rely on their senses. So often, they tend to rely on one or two more than the others. Those senses they rely on tend to become heightened. Those senses they do not use as much become weakened. For example, a baker learns to use her senses of taste and smell very often. She can tell if a cake has risen. She can tell if batter is missing an ingredient. However, that same baker might not use her sense of touch or sight as much. These senses will weaken with time. A mechanic often uses his sense of sight to see if a bolt head is 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch or needs a special wrench to remove. He will become so adept at noticing small distinctions in size that just looking at a bolt, he can tell you which wrench is best for the job. But that same mechanic may grow so used to the smell of gasoline that he may not realize when his gas can springs a leak. Again, people’s senses are heightened or weakened depending on their use or abuse.
The scripture for today is a reminder that one sense must be heightened for every faithful child of God. You need to develop a spiritual sense. Those who do not develop that sense will often lose the abilities the spiritual sense provides. You use it or you lose it! 2 Corinthians 5:6-7 explains this well. The author, Paul, wrote that being human, when “we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord”. The danger in being at home in the body is that we might rely too strongly on the sense of sight instead of leaning heavily upon the sense of faith. Paul urged his fellow believers to learn to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). In the same way that Josie explained to Peter that he needed to rely on his other senses when blind, Paul reminded the believers in Corinth that they needed to rely more heavily on faith instead of sight, spiritual insight more so than physical eyesight.
One of the main causes of near-sightedness or far-sightedness is a weakness of muscles around the eye. Especially as people age, they tend to use these muscles to change the focus of the eye less and less. Thus, they develop near-sightedness or far-sightedness. A person who doesn’t use his or her “spiritual muscles” will be weak in spiritual insight. That person will not be able to perceive spiritual things that will be obvious to another who has honed spiritual gifts.
I attended a meeting of individuals involved in spiritual formation. At that meeting, they discussed a retreat planned for the coming month. The meeting room contained musicians, bakers, pastors who would do Bible Studies, helpers to serve the food, workers who would set up the various gathering places, worship leaders, and others involved in the retreat. I only knew one other person at that meeting, a friend who drove us there and was a counselor. We were in the room for only a few minutes when I asked my friend, “What can you tell me about that woman over there?” He told me which church she was from, shared her responsibilities for the retreat, and offered to introduce me. I replied, “No, that’s OK. I just get a feeling in my soul that something isn’t right in her soul.” My friend replied, “Well, you aren’t wrong there. She lost her husband suddenly four months ago and has struggled with depression ever since.”
My eyes could see the woman before me was full of smiles and laughter and excitement to be a leader at the retreat. However, my soul was picking up that she might need to speak to me about her loss, if the timing was right. At one point during the retreat, I saw that woman alone. I sat next to her. An hour later, I stood up and hugged her. Her eyes were teary, but her smile was thankful. During that hour, she had opened up about her loss and we had prayed together. I felt part of my being at that retreat was to help her heal from her husband’s death. My spiritual senses led me right to where God needed me most.
If you do not learn to hone your spiritual gifts and insight, you will lose your ability to be God’s special servant in service to Jesus Christ. When God needs you to step into a situation, you may not be able to see with spiritual insight what is really going on. You might rely on your physical eyesight while missing spiritual cues. This will result in your misreading of a situation or saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
You need to learn to operate more often by faith, less by sight. You need to discern God’s voice among all the noises near you. You need to pick up on the Holy Spirit’s gentle push, even while the world is shoving you around. You need to trust that God’s ways are right even when your friends might be leading you down a wrong path. It’s not easy to walk by faith, but you need to develop the knack. Otherwise, you will be blind to the Spirit’s leading, and oblivious to God’s work to pave the way for miracles to happen!
Every day, flex your spiritual muscles. Pray in the Spirit. Rely on the Word of God. Don’t overlook God’s voice. Trust Jesus’ leading. Seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance.