Today's "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers is very good again today!
Is Your Ability to See God
Blinded?
Lift up your eyes on high, and
see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s
time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of
idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin
to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of
God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy
and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every
sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every
leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize
it.
The real test of spiritual focus
is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind
focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it
your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation
and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be
powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in
darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own
experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away
from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been
blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his
people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no
longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually
more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of
intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of
visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be
firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.
As born again, Spirit-filled believers in JESUS as Lord and Saviour, we have Holy Spirit living IN us! He is ready at all times to TEACH us what the Word of God says and means - to us! He instructs us in the unique and individual ways that each of us can put the Word of God into practice. One very important part of that involves our meditation. God designed us with the ability to 'daydream'! We can, as Holy Spirit leads us, 'picture' the Word we are reading and studying. We can 'see' the results in our imaginations, which is what we have those for! When we fill our ears, eyes, hearts and minds with the Word of the Living God as Holy Spirit leads, guides and directs, we will begin to SEE with the eyes of our FAITH, and then God can cause it to come to pass! AMEN! Work on spending more time in His intimate presence, allowing Holy Spirit to show Himself strong for you, and believing the God of the Bible will become the most natural thing EVER! AMEN! Here is Hillsong with "Irresistible":Shalom in Him!
