Have you ever been blindfolded? Maybe as a kid you played Pin the Tail on the Donkey or another game that required you to have your eyes covered. How well were you able to maneuver?
It’s an old movie but have any of you seen the movie Entrapment with Sean Connery and Katherine Zeta Jones? It was a movie that fascinated me. I especially liked the part where Sean Connery was teaching her to maneuver through the maze of laser beams on the security system so she could get to the mask. Crawling under strands of yarn, stepping over the same, turning on a dime – it was like a ballet and then what was truly amazing is that she had to be blindfolded and do it all without ringing the bells that were attached to the yarn.
So how does this all apply to our devotional today?
“For we walk by faith and not by sight”. II Corinthians 5:7
Walking by faith is almost like being blindfolded. We have to see with our heart and not with our eyes. We must be well trained, trusting, confident in the instruction of the one guiding us – not moved by the distractions around us but focused only on the goal.
Elisha was a prophet of God who had been thwarting the plans of the King of Syria. The King had been trying to conquer Israel’s king and armies but each time they were aware of his battle plan and avoided capture. God gave the Syrian king’s plant to Elisha and Elisha was giving information to Israel’s king.
One morning Elisha’s servant got up early and this is what happened.
“When Elisha’s servant got up the next morning, he saw that Syrian troops had the town surrounded. “Sir, what are we going to do?” he asked.
16 “Don’t be afraid,” Elisha answered. “There are more troops on our side than on theirs.” 17 Then he prayed, “LORD, please help him to see.” And the LORD let the servant see that the hill was covered with fiery horses and flaming chariots all around Elisha.” II Kings 6:15-17
The Old English said he prayed “LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” It wasn’t his physical eyes that needed to be open; it was his spiritual eyes, his eyes of faith. Elisha could see that God was there and providing a way but the servant could only see the obstacle when he needed to see the answer.
There were a number of times that Jesus spoke healing over someone and told them they were whole before they actually saw the physical results.
“And Jesus answered and said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee? The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive my sight. 52 And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” Mark 10:51-52
When we are walking by faith, we will see that God’s word is true and effective with our spiritual eyes even before we see things change in our physical realm. Faith is substance; it’s real, it’s tangible but it is also spiritual.
“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
God called Abraham the Father of many nations before He had a child. Was God a liar? Hardly! He foresaw what was coming into Abraham’s life and He called things that weren’t as if they had already occurred. He did this at creation and called light out of the darkness and it was.
When we walk with our eyes on Jesus and His word we will be able to see the way God sees.
“…Our message is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He also sent us to be your servants. 6 The Scriptures say, “God commanded light to shine in the dark.” Now God is shining in our hearts to let you know that his glory is seen in Jesus Christ. 7 We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us…
These little troubles are getting us ready for an eternal glory that will make all our troubles seem like nothing. 18 Things that are seen don’t last forever, but things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why we keep our minds on the things that cannot be seen.” II Corinthians 4:5-7 and 17-18
Christ has put his power in us. The power to see by faith. We are able to see things in an eternal light, we can see things from God’s perspective.
So put on your blindfold today – block out the natural and look at the eternal. Walk by faith and not by sight!