Tuesday, December 12th, 2023
Deuteronomy 20:1: “When you go out to battle against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and people more numerous than you, do not be afraid of them; for the Lord your God is with you, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.”
Throughout our lives we will have the option to see the events and situations around us with our human eyes or with our spiritual eyes. In this scripture the Israelites could choose to see the horses, chariots and enemies they were battling, or they could choose to see the Lord that was with them and fighting for them. In my personal experience, I spent a lot of the last few years of my life focusing on the things that made me afraid instead of the One whose perfect love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18). I chose to believe the lies that the enemy was whispering in my ears and the fearful picture that he was painting before me instead of the truth of who God is and who I am. Slowly, as I began to read more and more of the truths in God’s word, I began to shift from a fleshly gaze to a heavenly gaze. When my flesh wanted to see fear and anxiety and doubt, my spirit knew that God had not given me a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). When my flesh saw my nights as plagued with fear and panic attacks and darkness, my spirit would declare that I would both lay me down in peace and sleep for the Lord makes me dwell in safety (Psalm 4:8). When my flesh saw the darkness and felt weakened in the battle my spirit trusted that no weapon formed against me would prosper (Isaiah 54:17). When I saw fear and anxiety grip me so deeply that I wasn’t sure I would make it another day I would declare, “I will not die but live and declare the works of the Lord” (Psalm 118:17).
There are numerous situations where we can choose to see with our human eyes or our spiritual eyes. If it’s a financial situation we could choose to see our lack or we could choose to see the God that owns everything in the universe. If it’s a health situation we could choose to see the diagnosis and the words of a doctor or we could choose to see the cross that already paid for our healing. If it’s an issue in our marriage, we could choose to see all the negative things our spouse does or we could turn our gaze to the God who brought us together, loves us unconditionally and can teach us how to truly love our spouse. If it’s another relationship issue, we can choose to see the human that we are warring with (and all the unhealthy emotions that go with that view), or we can see the enemy that is using the situation to try to get us open the door to him and his wicked ways. If it’s an unfulfilled promise from God, we can choose to wander in hopelessness or we can declare our promises out loud to the One who made them to us knowing that He will complete the good work that He has started (Philippians 1:6) and that His Word never returns void (Isaiah 55:11).
Maybe some of us need help learning to use our spiritual eyes. Some of the most important things to develop our spiritual eyes are prayer, worship, and reading the Bible. Our prayers can be as simple as asking God to help us to see with our spiritual eyes. When we know we are using the wrong lenses, just ask God to help us put the spiritual ones back on. When we are stuck in confusion, doubt and worry, turn on some worship music and let it wash over us. The enemy flees when he hears it, and our spirit comes alive, inviting the Holy Spirit’s presence. I can tell when my day needs some worship music. As soon as I turn it on my gaze turns from me to my Heavenly Father. Whatever I am facing suddenly falls back into its rightful place behind the One who made it all and, with our permission, orchestrates it all. As far as reading the Bible, I will say this is one of those things that has had the most direct influence on my spiritual vision. The more time I sacrificed and dedicated to reading the Word, the more I grew spiritually. The less time I spent, the more I struggled and failed to filter out the lies of the enemy. The best way to engage our spiritual vision is to know the truths found in the word of God. Otherwise, we may fall victim to every single lie the enemy uses to try to get us to use our human eyes. Some of my greatest advancements in my Christian walk came when I realized I would have to set my alarm earlier in order to spend quality time reading the Bible and letting Holy Spirit speak to me. Yes, it is hard to wake up and my flesh always wants to sleep, but much like fasting, when I tell my flesh to bow down, then I can hear clearly what Holy Spirit is speaking.
Final Thoughts…
Every moment of every single day we have an opportunity to ask ourselves a simple question, “Which eyes am I currently using?” If our lives are producing the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galations 5:22-23) then we are using our spiritual eyes. If we are evidencing or producing anything that is opposite of any of these fruits, then we are most likely using our human eyes. This becomes a good opportunity to recognize the faulty eyes we are using, repent for using them, and then ask God again for a fresh impartation to our spiritual eyes so that we can see with unveiled eyes. The grass is always greener with our spiritual eyes.