Open Your Eyes
If you’d asked me four months ago where I’d be today, I probably would have given you a different answer than where I currently am. Life is full of surprises, even the type that moved my family back to our home state. Over the last few months we’ve changed everything from jobs, to schools, to cell phone carriers, and more. The only thing we haven’t settled in yet is a house. And now that it’s Christmas time, you can understand how much this lady is dreaming of having a tree to decorate. The whole transition and timing have had me asking many “what if” questions, because I want to make sure that every decision I make will set us up for a perfect future ahead. What if I make the wrong choice and miss out on what God intended for us?
As much as I want to see the future, I was recently reminded about when Jesus told his disciples to open their eyes. In John 4 verse 35, right there in red letters, Jesus said, “As you look around you right now, wouldn’t you say that in about four months it will be time to harvest? Well, I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!”
Even then, with Jesus right there in the flesh by their sides, he still had to tell them to open their eyes to see everything going on around them. One would think it may have been easy to see what Jesus saw-- to see what he was doing in their lives and in the lives of others. But Jesus’ eyes were open to the fact that they were looking on to the “what if’s” that may happen four months later. Jesus simply wanted them to realize that everything was already in motion. It wasn’t a matter of waiting for a great life in the future, because great life-change was already taking place.
And here we are today, with Jesus still by our side, and even better, his Holy Spirit living on the inside of us. He is just as close to us as he was with the disciples, and yet somehow, it’s still easy to miss so much. As if we’re waiting for everything to work itself out one day. We often let the circumstances of today turn our eyes inward. We close our eyes to the very true fact that Jesus is ALWAYS WITH US and at work in our everyday situations.
In my current situation, I’ve caught myself asking doubtful questions - when, why, or how quesitons. Despite my doubt, I feel him telling me to open my eyes to what’s around me right now. The year may not end how I thought it would four months ago, but what I’m learning every day is more important than being settled in the perfect house. Showing my boys that the joy of the Lord is my strength is more important than being upset that their stockings are buried deep in a storage locker.
How perfect that all this would happen right now, at Christmas to remind me that, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God with us” Matthew 1:23. Oh yeah, and when she gave birth to that son she wasn’t in her own home either. What a difference her willingness to step into change made for the world. I wonder what cell phone carrier worked best in Bethlehem.
This Christmas season I’m opening my eyes to The One who is with me in all my right now’s.