My Eyes Are Opening, I Can See!

"Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;
Elingthen my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest my enemy say,
"I have prevailed against him";
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation 
I will sing to the LORD
Beause He has dealt boutnifully with me." 
~Psalm 13:3-6

Very often we let the way we see things through our eyes determine the way we will respond to them. Here is a story that might help clarify what I mean:

There are two shoe salesmen who were sent out to scout the prospects of selling their product in a distant land. upon arriving, they found that nobody wore shoes. The one salesman telegraphed his headquarters that it would be a useless venture; "Don't waste your time, nobody even wears shoes over here!" His colleague, however, had a more optimistic outlook; "You'll never believe it! Everybody needs shoes, and there's absolutely no competition!"

These were two guys in the same business and they both see things through a different lens or different perspective.

In Psalm 13 written by David, we are not sure what exactly is going on in his life at this point in time, however by reading the whole Psalm, we can see that things may not be that great for him at this point. There are things in his life that are distressing him, but notice that half way through the Psalm, he prays to God; "Enlighten (illuminate, to light up) my eyes." After this prayer we see that the second half of the Psalm changes to one of rejoicing in God's mercy and salvation. What happened?

Well, what happened to David is something that really speaks volumes to me. As I read this Psalm this morning, it helped me see (enlightened) with my own eyes. It helped me see my situation in a different perspective. Sure things have been discouraging around me, new town, new people, new ministry, and on top of that the Lord stretching me and working on me, wow, I can't believe that I have not crawled into the fetal position with my thumb in my mouth and pack up and go.

It is because God has allowed me to see all these discouraging things in a different perspective. Instead of whining about my air conditioner, or relationships, or being alone away from family and friends. I see that these things God has used to grow me in significant ways. It has shown me that up until now I have been able to withstand the heat, not the Arizona heat, but the heat that comes during the refining process. Even though there have been times of doubt and concern, God has been my rock to lean on. I can see and feel the Lord shaping me and molding me and preparing me for his work. It allows me to relate to even more people and to be able to be an example to other people in what I am willing to do because of my faith in Jesus Christ. One of the most important things is that it has allowed me to see how much it costs to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and to carry my cross. It has cost me the comforts of home, it has cost me being around my friends back home, it has cost me material wealth along with financial wealth to move here. It has cost me to doubt, it has cost me much anxiousness. But thanks be to God that I am still here for his purpose, again I say, "His Purpose!"

When things around me seemed very dim and painful, God was able to move my focus on something encouraging...HIM. The Lord has answered prayers and like David, has given me a new perspective on my faith in my Lord and Savior. Thank God for his Mercy and my heart is thankful for his salvation and I shall sing to my LORD!

God bless you all,

Fonz