Opened Eyes

"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. Psalms 119:18.

There are many advantages in being a christian. Just one of them is that you can see things others can not. Further, you even have the privilege of seeing what others see more clearly than they do because of the presence and power of Christ. Ps.27 assures us that knowing God brings light to one's life, together with the capacity to see what others can not see. There are four stories in the Scriptures where we are told that God opened someone's eyes so that they could see what they could not see apart from His quickening touch.

HAGAR's EYES : The first such story is in Gen.21. It is part of the Abraham narrative. Hagar and Ismael after being driven out into the wilderness run out of food and water. Hagar cries to God in despair. God hears and opens her eyes and she sees a well of water. Vs.19. There is more than enough to meet their needs. Here was a life-saving resource she could not see without the quickening, eye-opening touch of God. Yes, we too need that touch to see the vast resources God has reserved for those who love Him.1 cor.2:9.

BALAAM'S EYES: In Numbers 22, we read of Balaam and his donkey. A pagan king offered great sums of money to Balaam if only he would curse Israel. As Balaam travelled, intending to gain this wealth, his donkey stopped on the way. God opened Balaam's eyes to see the angel of the Lord in front of his recalcitrant donkey. Now its surely interesting when a donkey sees better than his master! Balaam saw the money, the wealth. That's what he wanted to see. Thus there was no way he could see the angel of God. God preserved this ludicrous story in part, to let us see that unless we allow God to touch our lives, we risk spending our lives pursuing that which is, at best, inane. We may even pursue that which is evil and never know that we are on the wrong track. That's really the story of John Newton:writer of 'Amazing Grace'.Isn't it ?

SERVANT'S EYES : In the fascinating little tale about the prophet Elisha and his servant in 2 kings 6, we read about the Syrians who were hostile to Israel. In order to capture Elisha, they located and surrounded the city where Elisha lived with Syrian troops. Frightened Elisha's servant pointed out the soldiers and the chariots around them. Then in response to Elisha's request, God opened the servant's eyes and he saw the skies filled with horses and with chariots of fire, all set to defend Elisha. Yes, praise God. Do you see that ? 1 John 4:4.