“It’s not foresight or hindsight we need. We need sight, plain and simple. We need to see what is right in front of us.”
— Gordon Atkinson, Real Live Preacher
One of the biggest impediments to living out my faith is the inability to see things as God sees them. I want desperately to see into the future, to divine tomorrow. And equally, I want to look in the rear view mirror with the sage understanding of experience. But most of all, I want to understand this very moment.
And right now, I feel blind.
I see the world and am dismayed at the crumbling foundations. We are chopping up our crops and putting them in our gas tanks, causing world –wide food shortages. And the price of oil is responding by … going up. Our schools are broken. Our politics rudderless. Our churches stumbling.
Jobs, economies, confidence all seen in a tailspin. No matter what business you are in, you’ve heard the doom and the gloom. And because it’s a political season, any problem will only be exacerbated and exaggerated on the campaign trail. $4 a gallon gasoline. $3 for a dozen eggs. Angry words. Immigration tension. Students shooting schools. Charge cards out of control. The Middle East a powder keg. Where is the good news?
It all looks bad to me, and I don’t see an easy way out.
“Here,” Jesus says, “put these on and read this … ”
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16.33
Lord, spit on our eyes so we can perceive Your ways!
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