Seeing Through the Veil of Blindness
My husband Stephen is legally blind with the exception of one tiny spot in one eye. Sometimes he uses a cane however most of the time his seventy-five pound Guide Dog, a black lab and the absolute center of his life gives him the independence he needs. Blaze is the sweetest dog in the world. The two of them are so tightly bonded I barely get alone time with Blaze. Blaze sees obstacles that Steve cannot see when they are walking. Stephen and Blaze go to the Dallas/Ft. Worth (Texas) International Airport every Friday to spend the day with military men and women who are deploying into the theater-of-war.
"Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began" (I Cor. 2:6-7 NLT).
After losing his sight, Steve established an on-line Bible study (The Bible in 90 Days) for our young troops being deployed. Currently, there are over one thousand and four hundred men and women doing the study in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Africa. Even blindness cannot stop the wisdom of one who is determined to serve God.
Pondering: In last week's article we talked about lifting the veil of blindness and crossing the threshold into the Holy Spirit Wind who brings freedom (Holy Spirit Wind 6/23/09). Freedom is not without the cost of war as history has taught. Spiritual blindness commands a much higher cost. Staying within the narrow confine of spiritual blindness isolates how we see things through our eyes, and how we perceive or measure situations in our mind; as a result our spirit becomes a shut-in.
Are you spiritually blind? Do you see only what the flesh wants to see in others? Do you refuse to see behind the pain when someone acts out? Perhaps facing the easy to handle problems are the only issues you handle. If so, you may be spiritually blind.
Coaching: There is an event in Botany where a plant stops growing because the growing point damaged by pests, nutrient deficiency, drought, or water logged soil causes the growth of the plant to cease. The same type of thing can easily happen to us when our spirit is not fed properly through God's Word. The Bible feeds us spiritual nutrients, clothes us with battle gear, and teaches us wisdom to fight off pesky sins and spiritual drought.
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, Abba, Father." (Romans 8:14-15 NLT).
Spiritual blindness makes us unwilling or unable to see the reality of sin which in turn prevents growth. It inhabits our spirit locking it up so tight we form the habit of looking the other way instead of being on guard to face our enemy. Without realizing it, we very quietly and cautiously find a spiritual foxhole to retreat into so we can escape admitting the sin in our life. We turn a blind eye to sin until sin itself, becomes an infectious disease preventing spiritual growth.
Remember what David did with Bathsheba? His adultery led to the sin of murder. An unwillingness to see the consequences of sin in our life leads to spiritual blindness. Dressed in the proper spiritual uniform, trained in spiritual battle tactics, and using the spiritual weapons-of-warfare loaded with ammunition such as prayer, we open ourselves up to an anointing from God who blesses us with a legendary power of endurance. To survive the theater of war in the spiritual world our eyes must be constantly looking ahead to spot the enemy before the enemy sees us first.
Look at the faith of the Apostles after the advent of Pentecost. These men were so filled with the Holy Spirit's breath of life they were afraid of nothing not even death. How do we prepare for battle? Like the Apostles at Pentecost, through a new mindset. Our mindset is the result of the thought processes we allow our mind to contemplate. How can we prepare for battle if we imprison our thought process by hiding in a spiritual foxhole? We will become a victim of sin and eventually incarcerate our own mind and spirit with blindness. If we chose to live in an acute lack of mental alertness to sin we become spiritually unhealthy, blind.
"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him" (I Cor. 2:9 NLT).
What can we do about it? We can prepare by seeking the Word of God. Planning battle strategies is age-old wisdom. The purpose of church, home Bible studies, mentors, prayer partners, and Godly web sites like TRW are a real good start http/www.takerootandwrite.com. These resources provide strength training for future battles against a very old and wise enemy.
Life sets before us roadblocks resulting in soul damaged consequentially we are not spiritually prepared for battle. It takes insight to determine loss of vision and purpose. However, when we recognize the need to face spiritual and mental void with renewal new growth begins to change through the power of prayer, study, church, and mentoring.
Challenge: Are you equipped for battle? Are you prepared to survive the theater of war against an enemy that lies in wait with a deep desire to destroy your true purpose? Do you realize we all conceal ourselves with a veil of blindness at some point in life? The reason Christ died was for us to see life beyond the veil, through His eyes. There is spiritual freedom in this life but there is a cost, the cost is obedience. Without being knowledgeable about the enemies attack strategy we live in spiritual blindness with consequence of hiding in spiritual foxholes. We hide in shame as the Holy Spirit passes by.
Are you up for the purpose of truth? Are you ready to see what is stopping you is... you? God loves you. He is waiting to heal the blindness and give you insight and renewal.
Stephen Butler is a man with unconditional love for our country and our people. I enjoy his posts on facebook of the soldiers stories and photographs. It makes me feel more in touch to what is going on over there and Gives me a warm closeness to my daughter as she defends freedom on forgien ground. Thank you to Steve and Pam Butler for all you do. And Blaze too with out you getting around the airport would be difficult.
Posted by: Sharon Vormelker | July 10, 2009 at 08:04 AM