Open Our Eyes

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." And Elisha prayed, "Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. (2 Kings 6:16-17)

Elisha, the successor to Elijah the prophet, was used by God to warn the king of Israel of an ambush set up by his enemy, Syria. When the trap failed to spring, the king of Syria asked his men, “Ok, which one of you is the spy?” His men assured him that they were not spies but that there was a prophet in Israel who was ruining his plans. So the king of Syria dispatched a group to deal with Elisha. When Elisha’s servant, Gehazi, saw the host coming against them, he was worried and asked Elisha, “What shall we do?” But Elisha was not concerned. He knew what his servant did not know. While Gehazi was a servant of the man of God and had witnessed many miracles, he, himself, was not a man of God. Because of Elisha’s special relationship with God, he saw what his servant did not see. So Elisha prayed that God would open the eyes of Gehazi, so that he, too, could see the help that was available.

It occurred to me recently, that only in our relationship to God can we have the supernatural vision of Elisha. With it, we can see the possible instead of the impossible; we can see the big picture; we can look beyond the evil that men do and see the true source of evil behind their actions; we can see good and miracles in the little blessings in this world. We can we see past our human flaws. This type of sight becomes available to us, only as we draw closer to Him. Elisha and Gehazi are examples of how we view ourselves and our world with God and without God. Elisha saw with more than his natural eyesight because of his relationship with God. Gehazi could not see because of his lack of relationship (as evidenced by his actions later, but that’s another story).

My son and I went to see the movie, Avatar, in 3D. Although he had to pretty much drag me, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The scenery was beautiful, the special effects were seamless – you couldn’t tell where reality ended and the illusion began. A few times, I caught myself reaching out to swat at something that appeared in my peripheral vision only to realize it was an image on screen in 3D. It was pretty cool. But more than the special effects, the Na’vi had a saying that reverberated within me. When Neytiri finally saw the human form of her lover, Jake Sully, which was much smaller and more helpless than his Avatar form, she said to him: “I see you.” It meant she saw more than his actual body, whether human man or disguised as one of the Na’vi – she saw all the things that made him Jake Sully; mind, spirit and soul. And she loved him – he was not merely his body.

That scene stayed with me because it illustrated a point; seldom do we see our true selves. We look at our exterior and see our lack. We look internally and see our flaws. If only we could see ourselves clearly and love ourselves for who we are, who God has called us to be and not just see a collection of flawed body parts. Women, particularly, have been conditioned to always want the opposite of what they’ve actually been given. Advertisers make millions selling us what we are deficient in. This fantasy woman can only be achieved through plastic surgery, tons of makeup and extensive airbrushing – yet, we reach for her continually. But what if you are meant to be tiny and that is your beauty? And you are meant to be large and that, too, is beautiful? Short hair, long hair – dark skinned, light – skinny or not – all are beautiful. One is not lovelier or better than the other. More or less of anything will not make you more. Men don’t seem to suffer as much regarding their perceived flaws as women do. But the media is chipping away at their self esteem, too.

For a time, my divorce caused me to feel rejected and I constantly looked for the reason. I needed it to make sense. Maybe I wasn’t pretty enough, thin enough, feminine enough, or submissive enough. My self esteem had suffered a crushing blow. My internal message became clear after a while – I was not enough. But, thankfully, I had friends and family who helped me to believe in myself again. They repeatedly told me, drilling in the message until I was able to see myself clearly again – “You are beautiful. You are smart. You are enough.”

Even when not encumbered by my physical flaws, my vision was still a bit cloudy because I began to look at my internal flaws. I wanted to be perfect, like NOW. To never make another mistake again, put my foot in my mouth, hurt someone inadvertently or lash out in anger would be bliss. I wanted to be perfect and holy and live a life that was pleasing to God – to be an Über Christian! I visualized myself in a superhero costume, red cape flowing with a huge C on the front. Yeah! But frequently, I fell short and was left feeling deflated. Sigh. I voiced my frustration to a friend one day and she told me, “You won’t be perfect until you see Him.” In other words, I’m not supposed to be perfect now. Whew. That’s why I needed a Savior. I get that now. I’m so glad that when God sees me, he sees someone worth dying for, someone worth saving, despite my imperfections.

When we look past ourselves, we can see Him. Sure, as we draw closer we will also see where we need to change or improve BUT we will also see our worth and our value and our real beauty through His eyes. I know now, that who I am, is enough. I’m proud of what I have worked to achieve and who I have become. Once, I had a vision, or a thought, maybe it was a waking dream. In it, the words came to me saying that God would heal my eyes and I would have 20/20 vision. Wow, I thought then – no more glasses! But now I get it. The meaning is clear. No more spiritual blindness. I’m beginning to see me clearly – through His eyes. Father, open our eyes that we all may see …

Be blessed,

Loria