“ARE YOU LOOKING WITH YOUR GOOD EYE?”
This week I had a conversation about eyesight and eye dominance with my husband Mark. I realized that I am left eye dominant and he is right eye dominant. Then a few days later I had a discussion with my friend and fellow minister, Tammy Bunch, where we pondered eye dominance from a spiritual perspective.
Hebrews 5:14 tells us we should practice our spiritual senses, so as to move on into full maturity in the Lord. Only as we practice our spiritual senses can we perceive correctly heavenly matters. It’s from this position that we emerge with understanding between what is truly good and what is evil and harmful. This led us to further questions:
aside from intentionally practicing our spiritual senses, which eye do we predominantly view others from?do we tend to see the good in them from the get go?
Tammy and I knew God was showing us something as we continued to seek this out. From a Jewish perspective 2019 is in part about us intentionally seeing with our good eye. So after our discussion, I had to ask myself some hard questions and I went to the Word for the answers.
According to scripture we see people through the eyes of our heart, not just the organ of the eye…..
“I pray that the EYES of your HEART may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people…..” Ephesians 1:18 NIV
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NIV
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, SET your HEARTS on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” Colossians 3:1 NIV
“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the MOUTH speaks what the HEART is full of.” Matthew 12:33-34 NIV
“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Revelation 3:17-18 NIV
That last one hit me hard. Do we even realize when we are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked? We are counseled in this scripture to buy gold refined in the fire so we can become rich, and eye salve so we can see clearly. Dear friends, we all need the refiners fire, whether we like it or not. We need his loving discipline to put us back on track. Our vision dies and our love grows cold when we don’t allow this process in our lives. Even after we surrender our lives to God we must CHOOSE daily to set our hearts, minds and affections on the Lord, we must pray for eye salve to see correctly and we must call out for God to light the fire again in our hearts and lives. You may need to ask yourself some hard questions like I did. Has my love grown cold? Do I not see that I am wretched, pitiful, poor or naked?
Am I actively seeking to see the good in others? Am I using my good eye the most? Or the eye that seeks for evil in others?
“Living your life seeking what is good for others brings untold favor, but those who wish evil for others will find it coming back on them.” Proverbs 11:27 TPT
You may even discern something that’s not good, but if you do, are you looking for a redemptive solution? That requires us to use our good eye even then. The new year and season in Christ is upon us in just a few weeks, and the Lord is inviting us into His heart, vision and purpose. We are invited into the redemptive nature of God to believe, see and speak the good about others! This is our inheritance-in Christ.
Lastly, the Jews have a saying that I recently learned and plan to adopt for 2019 and beyond:
“GAM ZU L’TOVAH- “No matter what, believe for the good.”
Join me today and moving forward in seeing the good in others……
-Dana