2020 Vision - Heidi Cranston

I love this year’s number: 2020. Of course the first thing it makes us think of is vision. I had 20/20 vision for years, but as I have grown older that has begun to change. Turning our attention to spiritual vision, we all know we are born spiritually blind. I have come to realize that when we get saved, we gain
spiritual eyesight, but it is not necessarily 20/20. That’s because we still have that old sin nature blurring it for us. I often find myself struggling with different things. I catch myself grumbling to the Lord about things I know He has for me to do that I don’t want to do. It stretches me too much. I find myself unhappy and impatient with different people in my life, wishing I could change them. I grow discouraged and lose faith with God’s call on my life. All these things rob me of my joy. They leave me wanting to quit, feeling that is the only logical thing to do.
The real problem is that I am looking at all these things with blurred vision. I have spiritual vision, but when I look at things without my spiritual glasses, I cannot see them clearly. I have to sit myself down and give myself a little talk. I have to ask myself, “What does the Bible say about the things that are troubling me right now?” For instance I might say: “God, you are asking me to live this Christian life, but I just cannot do it. I am not qualified.” Then I remember a verse like 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it,” or 2 Corinthians 12:9, “...My strength is made perfect in weakness...”. When I feel impatient with someone, I’ll ask God what He thinks about them. Time and again He brings to mind 1 Samuel 12:23, “... God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you...”. When my faith is small and it seems like things would be so much easier if God would call me to something that did not require so much faith, I think of Matthew 16:25, “ For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.” When my spiritual vision gets blurry and I realize I’m losing my joy, I ask God to correct my vision. I ask Him to help me see life the way He sees it. He is always faithful to bring verses to mind and clear things up for me.