The optician stared at me, sitting uncomfortably in the hard chair in his office waiting for him to write a prescription for new contacts. I knew he said something but I was distracted, peering past the door where my six kids were impatiently sitting in the waiting area. Peanut Butter leaned over his big sister’s lap, spilling his little bowl of Cheerios all over the floor. Peanut laughed and stomped all over them, crushing them into powder. I tensed and gripped the edge of the seat tighter. Could we please get this over with so we could leave???
He tried again. “Amanda, I’m sorry to tell you this but you have Corneal Neovascularization, which means you have blood vessels growing into your cornea from lack of oxygen. By your own admission, you haven’t taken great care of your eyes, preventing oxygen from getting to them and you could very well end up with permanent loss of vision.”
I didn’t answer him; I wasn’t sure I understood correctly. All I needed was a prescription for new contacts but now I had a new vision problem? Would I never see again?
After a moment he continued, “At this point, it’s not permanent but it very well could be. You need glasses to allow oxygen to your eyes and time to heal. With proper care, your vision will be restored and the blood vessels will disappear.”
We finished up and my six children and I tried valiantly to sweep up the Cheerios crumbs before traipsing out of the room and into the front of the vision center. We searched through many frames for the least expensive pair which I tried on and my daughter instantly declared looked “beautiful” on me. The receptionist called after us, promising to let me know when the new glasses had arrived.
Because I failed to take proper care of my health, I was now facing the consequences. Thankfully, it wasn’t a major health concern but nonetheless, it was a problem and one I could’ve prevented.
A week after my eye appointment, it hit me: My spiritual life sometimes parallels this vision problem. When I don’t take care of my spiritual health, it suffers and I pay the consequences. Lack of time with God, communing in His presence, results in a separation from Him. Little things that wouldn’t normally bother me become a huge deal and I lose my focus on Christ.
Some friends and I were recently discussing the popular Christian radio single “Fix My Eyes” and how we often mindlessly sing along to the words:
The things of earth are dimming
In the light of Your glory and grace
I’ll set my sights upon Heaven
I’m fixing my eyes on You, on You
I’m fixing my eyes on You, on You
I’m fixing my eyes.
I was so distracted and busy with my life, I often fell asleep exhausted wearing my contacts. Despite the uncomfortable, gritty feeling in my eyes the next morning, I would just plug along, hoping for the best vision I could manage that day.
This. Is. What. I’m. Talking. About. When I get caught up in the drama of certain social media (and this is just MY example!), reading about everyone else’s life and missing out on what’s right in front of me, I lose my focus. I may sing the words about fixing my eyes on You, but I am not fixing my eyes on Him. My quiet time slips away and I plug along, hoping for the best throughout the day. And that’s the problem. When I lose focus on Jesus Christ, I make an easy target for the enemy.
We are warned in the New Testament of the Bible that our enemy, the devil, prowls the earth, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). When we lose focus on Jesus Christ and slowly drift away from our time and prayer with Him, we are easy targets for the enemy. We begin to focus our sights on things of this earth, things that don’t matter, things that interfere with our relationship with Jesus Christ, things that make the devil cackle with glee because we are NOT furthering the Kingdom of God. Indeed, we are doing the exact opposite–we are hindering God’s work, rendering ourselves useless to the cause of Christ.
We are in the midst of a spiritual battle and we need to be prepared to fight against the enemy every single day. So how do we do that and fix our eyes on Him?
1) Put on the full armor of God. In Ephesians 6, we are commanded to stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place and with our feet fitted with the gospel of peace. We should take up the shield of faith, to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. And finally, we need to put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
2) Pray without ceasing. Prayer, which is just talking with God, should be as natural as breathing for believers. Remember “Take it to the Lord in prayer”. Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you! (1 Thessalonians 5:17, 1 Peter 5:7).
3) Fix our eyes on Jesus Christ. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” –2 Corinthians 4:18
Don’t get caught up in the things of the world this week. Make quiet time a priority and talk to the Lord always!
Have a wonderful week!
Until Next Time,
The Farm Wyfe