Dear People who Keep Company with God,
“Byron is this what’s in your heart?” I was looking around our church during worship on a Sunday morning when I heard the Lord ask me that question. It was a God moment that has shaped my life since that day. I responded, “Not really Lord” and I heard Him say, “Why don’t you do what’s in your heart?” I answered, “Lord, I do not know what’s in my heart, I have gotten so far away from my heart why don’t you just put something in there and I will do that?” The Lord was concerned for the state of my heart. By asking me these questions He was bringing to light that I was suffering from a condition the Apostle Paul calls loss of heart.
Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
I had gone through a prolonged and tumultuous season and somewhere in the process my heart began to shut down. This is something we do to protect ourselves when the pain, disappointments and loss seem like they are going to overtake you. In verse 18 Paul tells us the secret to not losing heart, “seeing the invisible”. On the surface that sounds as practical as asking a blind man to select the color of a new car. If we are stuck in a world where all we can see is the same thing every non-believers sees then we can’t help but lose heart. However, as believers the Lord has given each of us the special ability to see the invisible (Eph. 1:18). In fact, seeing the invisible will not only keep your heart alive, it is also the way we are to live our Christian life; we are to see what we believe rather than believing what we see (Heb. 11:1 & 2 Cor. 5:7).
The Bible clearly tells us if we are to have activated spiritual senses such as sight, we must practice using them (Heb. 5:14). From the conversation I had with the Lord I have learned some very practical ways to activate and see with the eyes of my heart.
When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight. Luke 24:30-31
Jesus Christ has given us His written word and we should expect Him to bless the word, break the word open and offer it to us. This is how I approach the Bible, I do not try to understand it with my mind or apply certain interpretation principles. I simply ask Him to bless it, break it open and give it to me. I receive it by faith and in doing so my eyes are opened. I look forward with expectation each time I sit down with the Bible as I know it is the Lord’s desires to open my eyes to see Him as He reveals Himself to me through the scriptures. The key is having my eyes open to see Him, not to gain some new insight from the Bible although that is a by product of having your eyes opened. Understanding does follow this experience (Luke 24:45).
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1:20
I have always believed the Lord reveals Himself through nature and have enjoyed a sense of His presence while out in a nature, but there is more to this.
and yet He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” Acts 14:17
A witness reveals something they have seen or heard first hand; music and songs reveal the sounds of His house in heaven. Little children reveal to us the way into His house. When the sky withholds the rain it reveals our dependency on Him for the essentials of life. The face of the aged reveals that life is a vapor and we need to live each day fully. The crowing of a rooster reveals the need to stay humble…the list is endless. God is everywhere.
Many Blessings, BW