Press the arrow to listen to the story behind Paul Baloche’s “Open the Eyes of My Heart” as you read today’s devotion about vision.

Scripture
Then Elisha said, “Listen to the word of the LORD; thus says the LORD, ‘Tomorrow about this time a measure of fine flour will be sold for a shekel, and two measures of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria.’” The royal officer on whose hand the king was leaning answered the man of God and said, “Behold, if the LORD should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” Then he said, “Behold, you will see it with your own eyes, but you will not eat of it.” 2 Kings 7:1-2

Observation
In a board meeting, in a city so hungry that mothers were eating their own children, Elisha had a vision of price wars in the food market within 24 hours. Elisha was the only leader in the city who could see hope on the horizon.

The king was so deluded that he blamed God’s prophet for the siege of the city. The king’s right hand man could not envision anything other than defeat. Elisha alone could see that within 24 hours merchants would be slashing the price of flour in the stores.

Application
I want to be a man like Elisha, who can discern good things God is up to, through the walls of despair, before they come to pass. It is touching in this story that two lepers are the first to see the good answer of the Lord. It is saddening to see that the king’s right hand man saw it but never tasted it because he doubted. May my eyes see what God is up to in the future so I can make effective decisions in the present.

Prayer
Lord, would you please open my eyes like Elisha to see the hope that you are up to. Help me to understand good things you are planning so that I may be ready when they come. Amen.

Scripture

The word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Luke 3:2-5

Observation It is easy to gloss over this rough grain story of John the Baptist and miss the courage of the man.In a society saturated in legalism John broke every social rule to follow God. It was a time for conformity to at least one of the three major religious groups. Take your pick: Pharisee, Saducee or Essene. But there was no room for start ups. John joined none of them and launched out living far from the establishment in the desert.

John didn’t go to the world; John went after God and the world came to him. Hidden in the wilderness people found John the Baptist best.

This lifestyle had its advantages, for John could speak his message without dilution. His word was as uncompromising as a laser beam level. Valleys must be filled, crooked must be straight, and pot holes must be filled in. Notes on John’s sermons could be taken in phrases not paragraphs. He was simple and to the point: God is coming so get ready. The only way to build a road through a rugged place is to have a simple message that creates one straight pathway. Let others follow and add side streets. Let the pioneer build simply the main road. John did not have tangents just a target and with that he built one road that today we call the Christian faith.

There are times to launch out on nothing more than a personally perceived word from God. There is the danger of misinterpretation. There is certainly the misunderstanding of others. But the world needs more like John the Baptist to be like Daniel Boones for others to follow their trail. The “word of God came to John in the desert” and there he followed God. We would do well to do the same. There will be times that God will call us to follow him before the road exists. We must alert others to a road that must be built and by example inspire others to join the highway crew in construction. If God has spoken yet there is no road then the only option is to make one.

Prayer Father, today I want to be more than a road builder; I want to inspire others to build the road for themselves. There is a desert around me where there is no way; yet one is needed for other leaders to follow. Help me to become the road builder that you need me to be. Amen.

Scripture
But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Matthew 15:22-23

Observation
How could Peter plummet from hero to zero so quickly? In one paragraph Peter was an honor roll student while in the next he is a dunce. How did he get it wrong? How can I get it right?

Here’s the secret: look at all of life from God’s point of view.

Peter was commended by Jesus not just for seeing that he is Messiah, but that “my Father in heaven has revealed this to you.” (16:17) What mattered most to Jesus was not that Peter had the right answer but how he had come to the right conclusion. Peter had taken time to ask the Father. That mattered most. Peter had been able to push past the denseness of the disciples and the criticism of the Pharisees and had seen the world just as God sees it. That meant that his heart was open, teachable, and looking beyond circumstances to God. Peter was asking and listening.

Peter was reprimanded because he was “seeing things merely from a human point of view not from God’s.” He saw the cross without the Father and could not imagine any good thing coming from that. But had he given God space to interpret it to him, Peter might have grasped the plan of salvation in advance. Abraham saw Jesus’ day and rejoiced from 2000 years before. Why not Peter just months away?

Application
I need in every life setback, to ask the question: Father, how does this look from your perspective? Tomorrow I’m going to a funeral that is very sad. A cousin of Leslie my wife died at just 31 years of age. She was newly married and had not yet had a family. It’s impossible to ignore the tragedy of a virus that destroyed her internal organs in just a few days. But there are things God can see if we will dare to look at the future through his eyes.

Prayer
Father, there is plenty of roadkill on my journey with you that I do not understand, but I ask that you would help me to see things from your point of view. I give you space and time to show me how the cross leads to the resurrection even in the events I walk through today. Amen.