It seems that physical eyesight weakens as we age, while spiritual eyesight holds potential to strengthen with age. “Having 20/20 vision, the standard for normal visual acuity, means you can clearly see an image, like the letters on an eye chart, from a distance of 20 feet.” [1] How clear is your spiritual vision? If you see less than 20/20, we might remedy that today, as I “fix my eyes on your ways,” Psalm 119:9-16:
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
“Your eyes will be opened,” the serpent craftily spoke in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve could already see physically, but when they sinned, their spiritual eyes opened to see good and evil. Their physical eyesight played a role in destroying their spiritual eyesight. Sin entered the picture and tainted joy, happiness, and fellowship with God.
Improvements of happiness started for me when I dealt with the baggage of sin. In the eyes of humans, I was not a terrible person. However, sin separates us from God. I saw how my sin and past weighted me down. I asked for forgiveness and started the journey of healing from the affects of sin. Boosts of energy started surging through me day by day. The load lightened causing my thinking to change. Happiness flooded the atmosphere with energy and power, while a contagious joy started spilling over. I saw life, real life, for the first time.
“The human eye is an exceptional tool for gathering light; it carries the ability to distinguish colors and shapes to form images in our brain. However, for all the eye’s extraordinary ability, seeing is a function of the brain.” [2] Training my brain or mind, “stayed” on Him brings perfect peace. A believer renews the mind by replacing old thought patterns with new thought patterns from His Word and communicating with the Lord. “Having my eyes fixed” – “securely placed, fastened” on the Lord and His Word sheds light on His Pathway for my life. The spiritual eye recognizes light and carries the ability to discern good and evil.
My vision has weakened with age, one eye sees much worse than the other eye. I fixed (adjusted) my physical eyes a few years ago with glasses and most recently trying contacts. Everyday, I must fix my eyes, if I want to see. With fixed eyes, I see clearly. I see far away. I see close up. I see without squinting. I see with no headaches. I see and read. I see and walk. I see and live. Therefore, I understand my surroundings when “having my eyes fixed,” made the difference.
“Having my eyes fixed” and “looking unto Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,” Hebrews 12:2, speaks the same language? Much of the time, it is not what we see, but the way we see. Fixing my eyes on the Living Word and His Love produces happiness in me.
The practice of storing up His Word in our hearts, keeps our hearts pure. To “fix my eyes on your ways,” and “delight in your statues,” clears my spiritual vision, which helps me “not forget your word.” Are you storing up God’s Word in your heart to live with joy, happiness, and fellowship with God and others?
Join me for next time as we will look at God’s Word Councils.
[1] Jennifer Kahn, http://www.parade.com/health/2012/07/29-amazing-facts-about-senses.html?index=1
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