Healing is a process and that goes for the correction of our vision as well. Many times, we need more than one touch from God to heal our view of people, ourselves, or our circumstances.

Then He came to Bethsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Him to touch him.  So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything. And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.”  Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly. Mark 8:22-25

Jesus touched a blind man who was in need of restoration. By Jesus’ first touch,  he began to see men as trees. The man gained some vision, but he needed more vision correction. Sometimes we see people as trees they just seem to block our goals and our vision.

This could happen in variety of circumstances.  When a married woman is saved, she develops a vision to see her husband saved. She has gained the vision of both of them together serving God, but she finds that her husband is not very interested in her new faith. She prays for him and invites him to various events and church services in the hopes that he will change his mind. However, after a few years of trying, she finds herself discouraged. Now, she begins to get angry at him and see him as a block to her goals and dreams in ministry. His spiritual wellbeing is no longer her focus rather it is all about her happiness and fulfillment in life.

Jesus had to heal the man a second time, so he could see people as unique individuals rather than a lifeless object. We also need more correction of our vision to see ourselves or others clearly. Faith gives us the ability to put on spiritual eyeglasses to begin seeing things correctly.

Trusting God are those spiritual eyeglasses. They give us the ability to see in the spirit realm what we were not able to see naturally. They give hope to persevere and to keep looking to the Lord. They give us eyes to see ourselves clearly, so we can have a greater capacity to accept people where they are rather than where we expect them to be.

Thank you Lord for helping to see things clearly. Please perfect our vision and let it be in alignment with how you see us and others.

When an optometrist tests our eyes to a standard, he/she determines if we need  vision correction. Many live with uncorrected vision and make adjustment by squinting or getting closer to a book to see or read what’s there. We do the same spiritually.

Some of us have a tendency to be near-sighted. We can clearly see ourselves and our situations, but we have a problem seeing other people clearly. They tend to cause a lot of stress or frustration for us. Things seem unclear and confusing when we look at others, so we are cautious about getting close to people and stay away from those things we cannot see well.  

On the other hand, some of us are far-sighted. We have a good understanding of other people and are sensitive to their feelings. We have learned to navigate well when unexpected situations arise with other people, but somehow we do not know ourselves very well. We have spent so may years pleasing others that somehow we have lost ourselves in the process. We stumble upon the same things over and over again, and we don’t know what causes us to stumble. We don’t know what drives us to live life a certain way. We don’t know why we get so combative when others criticize us. We wonder why most of our relationships cause disappointment. 

Peter said to Him, “Even if all are made to stumble, yet I will not be.” Mark 14:29

Peter had a pattern of overconfidence. He certainly thought that he was never going to stumble. The problem was that he did not see Jesus or himself clearly. Jesus’ arrest made him stumble. Peter didn’t know that his vision needed correction. His own ideas and expectations of Jesus had impaired his vision.  He evaluated the situation based on impaired vision rather than on the reality of who Jesus was and what He was about to do. He also overestimated his own ability to handle the situation. He had the expectation to fight and win any battle but this was not a battle he could win. In fact, Jesus did not want him to physically fight this battle. Peter’s vision needed correction.

Faith gives us the right perspective and corrects our vision. The Holy Spirit illuminates the areas that need correction. He can show us those patterns that cause us to stumble. When we see with the eyes of faith, we can see things clearly. We don’t have to run from truth because faith gives us the courage to see thing clearly, and we can learn not to stumble upon the same situations or offenses. 

Lord, we thank you that you are the illuminator of truth and clarity. Thank you for opening our eyes that we can see in the Spirit realm what you are doing and that we don’t have to hold on to our own ideas of what is happening.

Faith gives us vision. When we are in a season of doubt and unbelief, vision is one of the first things that gets impacted by the fog of circumstances. We begin to see life as a series of dramatic instances that do not make sense. We tend to become negative or argumentative. Sometimes, we get discouraged and lose hope because life does not fit the picture of our expectations. We all have a vision issue to one degree or another. 

Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. Acts 2:33

The disciples could not see spiritually for almost fifty days because they were disillusioned with their expectations of Jesus. Everything they had hoped and dreamt, vanished with Jesus’ crucifixion, and they didn’t know what was next for them. While they could see naturally, they could not see or make any sense from Jesus’ situation.

On the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit fell upon them, everything came into focus. All those bits and pieces of revelation that Jesus had given them, now became a clear picture of God’s plan of salvation.

The disciples waited through prayer and worship until the Lord showed them what was going on. In those seasons where we don’t see things clearly, we need to patiently wait upon God through prayer and worship. We need the Holy Spirit to help us see again. We need His revelation to take us from discouragement to a place of vision and clarity.

Jesus likens Himself to a vine and teaches us to abide in the vine to have a consistent faith life.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.  Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:1-5

Abiding faith produces a fruitful life. When we abide in the vine, there is no lack of nourishment or energy from the vine to the branches. Sometimes, when life gets hard or people hurt us, we have a tendency to distant ourselves from the Lord. That does not help the situation because He wants to sustain us in those difficult times. In those times, we expect God to explain everything to us, but many times God’s comforting presence is upon a believer without giving him/her many answers. Abiding in Him sustains and stabilizes the believer in tough times and the Holy Spirit ministers comfort to the child of God.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Jesus reminds His disciples in John 15 that without Him we can do nothing;  Paul tells us in Philippians 4 that we can do all things through Christ. This takes away the pressure that we have to be surrounded with the right circumstances and the right people in order for us to achieve God given goals and be fruitful in our efforts. Jesus speaks about abiding in Him produces a vibrant and fruitful life.

Are there individuals who seemed to block your progress, hinder your vision, or even discourage you from pursuing God’s plan for your lives? It’s time to forgive them. Our power is tied to the vine. If we remain in the vine, God will see to it that His creative and redeeming power is flowing through us and is bringing fruit that lasts.

Jesus shared parables likening the kingdom of God to a wedding. He also gave analogies of Himself being the bridegroom. For the first miracle (turning water into wine) to happen at a wedding could have had deeper meanings. He could have been showing His heart for His bride, His desire to celebrate her (the church), and His special transforming touch on His bride. 

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2: 6-10

Interestingly, the master of the feast made the observation that the latter wine was better than the former wine. He was surprised because generally the hosts brought the best wine first and afterwords, the lower quality wine was offered to the guests.

The thinking of the master of the feast was natural and cultural. Spiritually speaking, God many times has bypassed the norm rather than following man’s pre-packaged plan. For example, God chose David and Joesph who were the younger sons in their families. Jesus in his teachings declared that the last shall be first.

Jesus spent 3 1/2 years with His disciples training and equipping them. However, Paul was the most influential apostle in the history of Christianity, and he came to the Kingdom after Jesus was resurrected. He did not spend any earthly time with Jesus, but His revelations and instructions gave us many of the New Testament books.

This is encouraging news to us all. Many of us may think we have come to the kingdom too old. Some of us think we are too young to be of any use to God. Others think that they are not fit for ministry because no one in their family has served God before, but those factors are not an issue to God.

God has a purpose for each of us, and He can do miraculous work in any life. If the Lord chooses, the 21st century church can do more miraculous work and have more powerful apostles and prophets than we have ever had in the history of the church.

We need to take God out of the box and let Him do what He desires. Our plumb line of success and growth is not the church next door or the previous church era. God can creatively use this generation with their technological advances to reach people all over the world including those nations that are hostile to the Word of God. Let’s be open and expecting of what God wants to do in our generation! 

There are times in life that we don’t feel qualified for a task, or we feel inexperienced to do a good job. We may have hesitations to take a step of faith and move into an uncertain future. This could be situations such as relocation, a change of career or a job, or ministering to others. We feel like tasteless water. We have looked at others around us and thought that we don’t measure up to their level of maturity and richness in the Lord.

Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece.  Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.  And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it.  When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.  And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” John 2: 6-10

Jesus knew the lack that the hosts were experiencing and gave the servants the instructions to fill the waterpots with water. The servants were probably in perplexity as to what was the point of this exercise since lack of water was not the issue at this wedding, but Jesus had a different plan. Jesus didn’t do magic but a miracle! He didn’t speak wine into existence, but He used what was available to do the miracle of turning water into wine.

Jesus expects us to offer Him what we do have instead of making excuses for what we don’t have. He already is aware of our lack and our need, but we will get tested to offer Him what doesn’t seem to be sufficient or adequate. He can touch what we offer Him and transform it for His purpose. Just as the tasteless and colorless water was turned into rich and colorful wine, He can touch our lives to add richness to it. We don’t have to add food coloring to make ourselves look rich and mature, but in honesty and humility we can offer ourselves and our situations to Him, so He can touch them and transform them. 

Our lives are supposed to be miraculous not magical! That means that we always come to the Lord offering ourselves, our efforts, our talents, or our time, and then we ask Him to touch it. He will do the supernatural work with our natural offering. He will change it into something that benefits the Kingdom and the people around us!

In the last devotional, I shared about Jesus declaring Himself as the bread of life. Salvation is the starting point for us to be fed spiritually by finding peace with God and obtaining peace of mind we all desire. However, there is more to our spiritual food than just the event of salvation.

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. John 4:34

The above scripture is in response to His disciples who were concerned that Jesus hadn’t eaten anything. Jesus chose to stay behind and did not go with the disciples to get food. While sitting by the well, He ended up talking to a Samaritan woman  about her spiritual thirst. This encounter led her and her community to come to faith.

Obviously, Jesus needed food for the nourishment of his body. Hunger was a method that the enemy used to tempt Him in the desert when He was fasting for forty days. Jesus in this situation is speaking about a deeper spiritual reality rather than physical hunger. Jesus, the perfect man, had a need for spiritual sustenance that came from His obedience to the Father. He was being nourished and nurtured by the Father as he continually took steps of obedience to what the Father had asked Him to do.

Many Christians get disillusioned with their faith and wonder why they feel weak spiritually. Sometimes, we have a magical view of salvation and think if we have believed in the work of Jesus on the cross, then we should have continual peace and joy in life. As I shared earlier, salvation is the starting point and the foundation of our walk with God, but there is more to our victory than the event of salvation.

If Jesus needed to be obedient to the Father in order to be fed spiritually, then our obedience as a form of spiritual growth and sustenance is non-negotiable. Jesus knew the will of God had to be finished in His life. Is that a focus of your life?

If we are feeling weak, doubtful, or discouraged, think about the last few months in your life. Consider if you obeyed the Lord when He directed you or instructed you about something. Take steps towards obedience and experience being nourished by the Lord!

Food is an integral part of our lives. When we don’t eat, we get a headache, or we’re grumpy. Over long periods of time, lack of food makes us weak and malnourished. Having food on daily basis is the norm and not having it is against the norm. We also have spiritual hunger that needs to be satisfied and lack of spiritual food manifests itself through a variety of ways. 

And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. John 6:35

The scriptures tell us that Jesus is the bread of life, and that He satisfies our hunger. What are we hungry for? And how does He satisfy that hunger?

Security & Peace

People are suffering with all types of anxiety disorders from mild to severe forms. Unfortunately, our young people are not exempt from anxiety either. Fear has gripped people for many reasons. The lack of connections with people has aggravated this issue even more because people have difficulty finding secure and reliable relationships that they can count on. 

In addition, sin damages our internal world where we are not sure of ourselves. We may carry guilt, pain, shame, and self-rejection because of the past. There may be situations in our lives that we have never had the courage to share them with anyone because we are too embarrassed or too afraid to be judged.

We need communion with the God who created us to feel secure with our existence in this wide world and to have rest for our souls. Years ago in my sociology class, the professor shared that the number one desire of most people is to have a peace of mind.

Jesus made that possible by going to the cross for us. To know that our sins are forgiven and that we can lay down our burdens, guilt, and shame at the cross is the greatest gift we can ever receive. Money, education, intellect, or talent cannot buy us the peace of mind we so desire.

Salvation through Jesus’ cross is the foundation to a life that gives us peace of mind. It is the starting point to feeding our souls, but Jesus had more to say about his spiritual food.  I will share about this in the next devotional. 

One of the pitfalls to time management is overcommitment. Overcommitment has the illusion of power and significance, but it actually causes people to lose their power over managing their time. In those times, individuals are not able to be led by God anymore instead they are driven and pushed by schedules and commitments.

Recently, I had a conversation with someone who complained about working full time because her employer would not offer her a part time position. Additionally, she had agreed to take on heavy responsibilities at work, which will turn out to be a great source of stress for her. Then, somewhat confidently, she stated that she needs to claim God’s victory over this! I was surprised by her response because from my vantage point this looks like overcommitment. Trying to claim God’s victory over this type of situation, appears superstitious and presumptuous. Unfortunately, in time, this person will begin to feel guilty and stressed because she is not available for her family.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it— Luke 14:28

 Here are a few things to think about to avoid overcommitments:

1. If the Lord is leading you to work part time and you know that with some sacrifices you can make the ends meet, then trust God for His direction. This is particularly important in situations with children at home.

2. As the above scripture states, Jesus told us to count the cost before we build something. If we jump on a so called “opportunity” because we feel flattered, or it provides a large increase in income, we may be building on sand. If we neglect to count the cost of taking on the commitment, we will have to pay for it by taking valuable time away from the Lord or the people in our lives to compensate for overcommitment.

3. Seeking the Lord for guidance does not guarantee a peaceful ride. The storms may still come, but, in those instances, we can claim victory because we have been building based on God’s principles and direction.  If we just randomly claim victory, we are being presumptuous and will lead to disillusionment. 

4. The consequences of overcommitment is not always seen in the short term. I am concerned for many marriages that operate on overcommitment. For years, things appear to be going very well for couples, but the long term consequences of overcommitment can affect the children and/or the marriage. Because people have not invested as much time in their families, when difficulties come or children leave home, the couples don’t find much interest in each other. A recent article stated that “gray divorce” is on the rise. These are individuals who have been married for decades but now they don’t find much in common with each other. Have our accomplishments become more important than those we love and cherish?

   To steward our time well, it requires believing God and trusting Him with His direction and priorities. He will give us the time we need to accomplish everything He desires, and we don’t have to overcommit to make it happen.

Managing our time is an important aspect of our Christian growth and maturity. If we cannot manage our time well, chances are that we either live in chaos,  something is being neglected, or we are not making progress. God has given us the confines of time to help us work within its boundaries. These boundaries force us to prioritize our goals and activities and, at the same time, maintain peace and order in our lives. 

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,  making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Ephesians 5:15-17 (NIV)

Every day is a gift and opportunity from the Lord. When the sun rises, we are given a fresh brand new day that is meant to be lived out intentionally. The Lord through Paul tells us to be wise about our opportunities. We are instructed to be diligent and not to be lazy, but there is more to being wise than just being diligent.

There are many good activities and causes that we can be involved with, but we need to decide which ones we are supposed to commit to. According to the above scripture, the difference between a wise and unwise person is understanding the will of the Lord. A wise person has studied the Bible, consulted the Lord, and has unity with their spouse (if married) about their commitments and activities.

I am reminded of the parable of the virgins (Matthew 25;1-13). The difference between the wise ones and the foolish ones were that the wise ones kept the vision, were prepared, and expected the bridegroom’s arrival, but the foolish ones lost the focus, were unprepared, and fell asleep.

The passing of time and activities has a way of dulling our senses making us lose the urgency of the moment. We can get lulled by all the commotion around us and lose the vision of what our lives are all about. Sometimes we don’t see the value of what we accomplish in a day, so we decide there should be something better, more exciting, or more interesting that can be done with our time.

Lord, help us to know your will in regards to our time. How would you like us to use our time? Help us to hear your promptings above our own desires. Amen.