But Now I See

1st Corinthians 2 tells us we have the mind of Christ, and in the preceding chapter, we can read:
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption--
31 that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the Lord."

We can consider what we spend our time thinking about and what influences us.  God wants us to be spiritually sharp, living according to the principles of His Word and applying His truth to the actions we take each day.  He wants us to not merely consume the Word as information, as a "hearer" of the Word, but to actually do what He directs and empowers us to do.  We can think Biblically, according to the mind of Christ and the wisdom He gives, recognizing our identity in Him.

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The Lord enables us to "see," spiritually speaking, beyond the things of this world or the limitation of our physical senses, to know His ways and to discern His presence.  2nd Corinthians 4 addresses spiritual sight:
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

God can work in our lives, as we allow, to eradicate spiritual blindness.  We need to clearly see who He is and to enjoy the relationship He has given.  And, I have come across a story of someone who not only has the relationship with the Lord, but who also experienced some difficulty with her eyes.

A Faithwire article says that at the age of 40, she began to experience "excruciating pain" in her eyes.  The story states:

The excruciating pain went on for almost two years before a doctor was able to diagnose her, though he told her there would be no cure.

“I just sat there crying in my car and just saying to the Lord, ‘This is it. This is the end for me. There’s nothing else I can do,'” Shannon said. “And I explain in the book how I’m not someone whoever feels like I’ve audibly heard the voice of God but I felt in my spirit and I heard Him say to me in that moment, ‘I will be with you.’ Not, ‘I’m going to heal you. I’m going to take this away. You’re never going to have this pain again.’ Just, ‘I will be with you.’ And I felt like that promise sustained me and I knew it was true. I knew His presence would be with me despite the fact that there was no cure.”

She eventually had surgery and says her eyes are much, much better, even though she doesn't have perfect eyesight.  But, you probably wouldn't know that if you watch Shannon Bream, anchor of Fox News at Night, who has told her story in a new book called, Finding the Bright Side, in which she talks about her eye challenges, as well as her journey of faith in Christ and journey to the top of the news business.  Her husband also has experienced a major health challenge, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor just after the Breams graduated from college at Liberty University.

Shannon persevered through a difficult season, and I am reminded of inspiring people who have faced their own eyesight challenges.  I think of our friend, Jennifer Rothschild, who became legally blind during high school, whom God uses as an amazing inspirational speaker, as she teaches people how she can truly "see" in matters of the Spirit.  There's Jake Olson, who will be speaking at next month's Gridiron Men's Conference in Birmingham - according to The Hollywood Reporter, in 2017...

...he made history as the first fully-blind athlete to play in a college football game. He took the field Sept. 2 in the season opener against Western Michigan and snapped on an extra point. It was good.

Olson lost one eye when he was ten months old, and when he was 12, had his other eye removed due to cancer.  His story was told on ESPN in an Emmy-winning feature and he has gone on to become an inspirational speaker and to establish a foundation.  After that snap in the USC game, he said, according to the LA Times: "There's a beauty in it," adding, "If you can't see how God works things out, then I think you're the blind one."   He has recently graduated from the University of Southern California.

Some takeaways from these stories regarding sight:

We can be challenged to open our spiritual eyes.  Even though we can be blinded by adverse circumstances or even physical conditions, we can still "see" God's hand and sense His presence.  He wants us to know His truth and be able to develop spiritual-mindedness, so that we might think with the mind of Christ.  We can learn to be sensitive to His direction

Also, we can be inspired to recognize that we don't have to let barriers keep us from experiencing what God has in store.  When the enemy would bring discouragement into our consciousness and threaten to get us off track, we can rely on God's Word and His Spirit to strengthen us in our walk with Him.

Finally, we have the incredible potential to "see," spiritually speaking, His glory; He will work in the natural, but He is definitely operating in the supernatural, beyond our physical senses.  We can know and follow the presence of Almighty God, who desires to express Himself in the hearts of His people.