Daily Devotion
An Unobstructed View
By
Byron Bohnert
My grandmother recently had cataract surgery performed on her right eye. She was somewhat apprehensive about the operation, but knew the end result was well worth the risk. Before the cataract was removed, her vision was poor. Now, however, her vision is almost a perfect 20/20. Once the cataract was removed from my grandmother’s eye, she said that the light became much brighter than before. And even the next day, she noticed the colors around her were more vibrant.
As it is with cataract surgery, sometimes all it takes is a minor adjustment for us to regain clear vision.
Pastor Ed Young, Jr. said, “So often the small tweaks take us to giant peaks.”
If we want to see things clearer, we have to remove the stuff that clouds our vision or we will continue to live with a distorted view.
In Luke 11:33-36, Jesus tells us that we need to keep our minds eye open so we don’t live in the dark.
“No one lights a lamp, then hides it in a drawer. It’s put on a lamp stand so those entering the room have light to see where they’re going. Your eye is a lamp, lighting up your whole body. If you live wide-eyed in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. Keep your eyes open, your lamp burning, so you don't get musty and murky. Keep your life as well-lighted as your best-lighted room.” (MSG)
By choosing to fill my mind with the Word of God and sound biblical teaching, it helps to keep my spirit and entire countenance illuminated. In other words, I am constantly soaking up the instruction I receive and allowing the knowledge to enlarge my vision.
Proverbs 4:1 says,
“Hear, My sons, the instruction of a father, and pay attention in order to gain and to know intelligent discernment, comprehension, and interpretation [of spiritual matters]." (AMP)
The Apostle Paul’s prayer in Ephesians resonates with me today as I believe it did with those who read his words soon after they were written.
Paul writes,
“I ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing Him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is He is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life He has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of His work in us who trust him, endless energy, boundless strength!” (Ephesians 1:17-19 MSG)
When we seek the Holy Spirit’s counsel our plans line up in accordance with what God desires for us to do. Otherwise things can turn out to be a greater struggle than a delight.
Jesus said to His disciples,
“If you love me, obey my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.” (John 14:14-17 NLT)
It is God Himself who longs for our spirit and His to be united together as one. Only then will we have the full capacity to see with unobstructed vision.
Related Links:
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you to know Him and experience an amazing change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace with God.
You can also send us your prayer requests
Byron Clay Bohnert’s writings inspire people to look at life through the eyes of Faith, a perspective that oftentimes helps us focus on what’s really important and forego those that are not. On January 16, 2009, Byron took up new residence with our Lord in heaven. During his 29 years on this earth, he enjoyed sharing and encouraging people through Devotions he wrote for CBN.com and other publications and his personal witness just loving Christ, his family, his church and people he never met.
Log in or create an account to post a comment.
CBN IS HERE FOR YOU!
Are you seeking answers in life? Are you hurting?
Are you facing a difficult situation?
A caring friend will be there to pray with you in your time of need.
|