“Lord, open his eyes that he may see”, Elisha, the prophet, prayed for his fearful servant as they were surrounded by troops sent by the Aramean king to capture Elisha. The prophet was a target because God had been revealing the military plans of the Arameans to him. Elisha, in turn, was communicating those plans to the king of Israel. This gave Israel an advantage over Aram as they fought each other [2 Kings 6:8-23]. Elisha wasn’t captured because God intervened. But it’s interesting to observe the responses of both men to the same situation. Elisha was unperturbed by the soldiers that made his servant fearful because he saw something his servant didn’t see until he was granted Elisha’s revelation.

What do you see when confronted with the vagaries of life? Practically speaking, your revelation, that is, what you see, determines your response. Therefore, your response to your predicaments is a good indicator of the revelation you possess. I’ve realized that it doesn’t really matter how much of the Bible I’ve memorised or what claims I make as a Christian if I’m completely flustered by hardships and challenging situations. You simply can’t fake revelation. If you truly see, then how you respond will bear witness. But, if your response to trials and hardships is at odds with your claims, I would argue that you haven’t truly seen, and something is missing.

The sad truth is that we can be blind and not know it [Mark 8:18]. We can lack wisdom despite claiming to be wise. Interestingly, the Bible highlights that there’s wisdom that’s based on our human experience. It calls this the wisdom of this age. It also points out another kind of wisdom that’s possessed by those called the rulers of this age. But we’re also told that there’s the secret and hidden wisdom of God [1 Corinthians 2:6-7]. Unfortunately, many people rely upon human wisdom alone. They base their principles and choices on theirs and others’ life experiences and ignore the wisdom of God. In other words, they’re spiritually blind. The Bible says that such people are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God [Ephesians 4:18]. Invariably, life will always demonstrate that the scope of human wisdom is woefully limited [1 Corinthians 1:18-21].

Those who dabble in occultism know there’s more to what meets the natural eyes. The forces of evil don’t operate based on human wisdom. In fact, they count on us to rely on human wisdom because they know they possess something superior which gives them an advantage over us. They are the ones the Bible says we wrestle against [Ephesians 6:10-13]. This means that for a Christian, spiritual blindness is a major handicap. As such, we’re cautioned to walk in the light [Ephesians 5:8]. Simply put, if you walk in darkness, you give the devil an advantage. But if you walk in the light, you gain the advantage.

The Bible equates walking in the light to walking in wisdom [Ephesians 5:15]. This is the secret and hidden wisdom of God which God decreed long ago for our glory. It’s revealed by the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand and possess the mind of Christ [1 Corinthians 2:7-16] so that we can emulate Jesus in every area of our lives. It baffles me that for most of my life I didn’t know such wisdom was available to me. Such ignorance causes a person to walk in darkness. It’s also worth remembering that the gospel is veiled to some because the devil has blinded their minds, preventing them from seeing it [2 Corinthians 4:3-4]. As such, we must pray for ourselves and those who undervalue or reject the gospel because the powers of darkness actively try to stop us from accessing the wisdom of God.

Jesus once said that the eye is the lamp of the body. So, if the eye is healthy, the body will be full of light. But if the eye is unhealthy, the body will be full of darkness [Matthew 6:22-23]. This is true of physical and spiritual blindness, but much worse for the latter. Thankfully, Jesus can heal both. But like Bartimaeus, we must ask to be healed [Mark 10:46-52]. Sadly, spiritual blindness is easy to ignore because many of us foolishly think that possessing the wisdom of God is optional. So, we don’t seek it desperately, despite being commanded to do so [Proverbs 4:5-9, James 1:5]. But, if we were physically blind and we were told that there was someone with a cure, most of us would move every obstacle to meet that person. Acting this way demonstrates that we truly don’t understand how vulnerable we are without the wisdom of God.

It is disastrous to be plagued by a malady you don’t know about because you’re often unaware of your predicament until it’s too late. Thankfully, when it comes to spiritual blindness, you can examine your sight and see the results for yourself right away. Actually, let’s do that now. The Bible says that God’s desire for us is to walk in the knowledge of His will with all spiritual wisdom and understanding. When this happens, we’ll be fruitful and increase in the knowledge of God. Consequently, when trials come, we’ll endure them with patience and joy because of the knowledge we possess [Colossians 1:9-11]. Additionally, we’ll always have hope and security because we’re assured of who we are and confident in God. We’ll also know the power of God at work in us [Ephesians 1:17-19]. People who see life this way, like Elisha, aren’t flustered by anything. They’re neither anxious nor fearful. Does this describe you?

Be honest with yourself, what do you see? If like me, your vision is hazy, then I invite you to pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Make Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 1:17-20 your earnest prayer.