There are moments in life when our physical eyes see only the difficulties, heartache, uncertainty, disappointment, stress or fear. We focus on the closed doors, unanswered prayers, broken relationships, financial struggles, illness, or dreams that seem to be slipping away. In these moments our natural eyes can only see what is happening around us, but God wants to invite us to see something much greater.💛
This week I’ve been learning about how the prophet Elisha understood this principle of “opening our spiritual eyes to see.” When his servant became terrified after seeing an enemy army surrounding them, Elisha didn’t pray for the army to disappear first. Instead, he prayed:
“Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” 2 Kings 6:17
Immediately, the servant’s eyes were opened, and he saw that the mountains were filled with heavenly horses and chariots of fire surrounding them. The danger had not disappeared, but now he could also see God’s protection.
One of the greatest prayers we can offer, is not to say, “ Please change my circumstances,” but to instead say; “ Heavenly Father please open my spiritual eyes that I may see.”
When our spiritual eyes are opened, our circumstances may not change immediately, but our perspective does. We can focus on turning our hearts away from what we lack, from our fears, to focusing on having divine perspective instead.
I’ve realized that when I ask the Lord to open my spiritual eyes, He doesn’t always change my circumstances right away, but He almost always changes my perspective. He reminds me that He is working, even when I can’t see it. He helps me notice His tender mercies, His miracles, and His loving hand in moments when I would have otherwise overlooked.
He has also helped me to have spiritual eyes to focus on gratitude or to recognize the tactics of the enemy and He reminds me of ways in which I can protect my mind, heart and soul form the adversary. Without spiritual eyes we wouldn’t be able to recognize the Lords ways vs the enemy.
Spiritual eyes can help us to recognize God’s hand, we can notice His tender mercies that may be hidden in the difficult days. We can see that He provides daily ☀️ and that He has been walking beside us all along.
This story of Elisha also reminds us to ask ourselves
How often are we like that servant?
We become overwhelmed, fearful and anxious because we see the obstacle but not the God who is greater than the obstacle. We see the storm but forget the Savior who walks on the water. We see the mountain, but fail to notice the God who moves those mountains.
Faith is learning to trust what God sees even when we cannot.
Sometimes God opens our spiritual eyes by helping us recognize that an unanswered prayer is actually divine protection. Other times He helps us see that our waiting is preparing us for something greater that He has for us. Or there may be times when He lets us know that the trial itself is becoming the actual instrument He is using to refine our hearts and draw us closer to Him.
The Apostle Paul taught:
“…we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Walking by faith means trusting that God is doing things we cannot yet see. It means believing that His timing is perfect, even when it doesn’t match our own. When we have faith we’re OPTIMISTIC In the trust that we have in a loving and amazing God. ❤️🥰🙏🏼
President Russell M. Nelson once said, “The Lord loves effort because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” One of the greatest efforts we can make is choosing to seek heaven’s perspective every day.
So today, instead of only asking the Lord to remove your trial, try asking Him to help you see it differently. Think of ways in which you can put effort toward coming closer to God or working toward what He has put in your heart.
Ask Him one day at a time to open your spiritual eyes.
You may begin to notice blessings you hadn’t seen before, angels you can actually feel! strength you didn’t know you had, lessons you wouldn’t have learned otherwise you had to wait. Today, let the Lord guide your mind and heart to acknowledge and see the evidence that God has been walking beside you all along.
When we begin to see through the eyes of faith, we realize that we are never facing life’s challenges alone. There’s a purpose and a divine timing that we can trust. For now, we can just hold on to our creator and allow Him to come and help us open our eyes that we may see with spiritual eyes one day at a time. 🥹
The more we pray, the more we see & the more we see the more power we have to transform our discouragement into hope, confusion into peace, and fear into faith. 💪🏼🥰 Truly, with Christ all things are possible. ❤️
Take a moment to breathe and say a little prayer asking the Lord to help you open your spiritual eyes so that you may see what He would like to show you in this very moment. Let yourself have a moment with the Savior, let go of what’s heavy in your heart and allow His to help you see. Write down any impressions, visions or thoughts that come to you. God loves you and wants to show you what He has for you. 💛
Our Spiritual Goal for This Week
Each morning, begin your prayers by asking, “Father, please open my spiritual eyes today.” Throughout the day, write down at least one moment where you recognized God’s hand, guidance, comfort, or blessing, even if it seemed small.
Our Physical Goal for This Week
Spend at least 20 minutes each day walking outdoors without distractions. As you walk, intentionally observe God’s creation. Notice the colors, sounds, sunlight, breeze, trees, birds, and flowers. Let nature speak to you and remind you that the same creator who sustains the world is faithfully sustaining you. 💖
Hope that you can make it to class tonight at 7pm! Our focus will be to give ourselves a little more love by moving our body, releasing stress and having an amazing and relaxing meditation. Hope that you can join us and invite others to benefit as well. 🥰❤️🙏🏼
Love,
Lili 🌸
