Enlightened
Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. Psalm 119:18
The most striking thing about reaching adulthood is realizing that you have no idea what you’re doing. I remember my first day as a band director. I stood on the podium and a young girl raised her hand to ask me how to play a certain note on her clarinet. The first thought that went through my mind was “I don’t know! I’m a trumpet player.” It didn’t take me long to realize that I was supposed to just know all the answers. I had passed a test on clarinet three years earlier, and hadn’t thought much about it since. Needless to say, I quickly put some visual reminders in place, and then spent countless hours playing every instrument until I had a lot more infomation readily available in my head. Having a college degree in something and having working usable knowledge are two vastly different things.
Spiritually, the difference between knowing the Lord through a salvation experience and developing a deep and mature relationship with Him can be similar. I could have continued teaching band with a collection of charts taped to my podium, checking a chart each time a child had a question, but I didn’t. I wanted to be able to answer them without having to look that information up. I wanted to know each instrument well enough to understand the challenges each student was facing. As I learned, I often playing through each piece of music we were working on with each instrument, to be sure that I could anticipate anything they might struggle with.
There are Christians who approach their spiritual life both ways. Some grow from the beginning and work hard to know Him better. Some rest on their salvation experience and don’t grow much. Sadly, for many years I chose the wrong approach to my faith. I had my salvation, and I loved the Lord… but, I wasn’t really interested in putting the kind of effort into my faith that would necessitate making extensive changes in my life. Thankfully, our God is a God that continues to woo us even after we have given our souls to Him. He continues to draw us with His Holy Spirit, with songs that touch our hearts, and with the messages of His God called preachers and pastors who so faithfully preach the messages He gives them.
From the very earliest days of the church, His ministers have prayed for their church members to develop a deep and dependent relationship with God, coming to know Him well, and developing a keen discernment for the things of God. Paul’s prayers for the churches in the letters he wrote often show the depth of his love for them, and his desire for them to continue to growth in faith and love for Christ.
I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints Ephesians 1:16-18
Just like anything else that is worth doing, our relationship with God requires commitment and work on our part. The real blessing of working toward a closer relationship with God is that He isn’t a far off God waiting for you to meet His exacting standards. He gladly meets us when we come to Him on His terms
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8
I wonder sometimes why it took so long for me to see the truth of it. And when I did, I often commented that it almost felt as though scales had been removed from my eyes. Scripture began to make sense in a new way when I prayed over it, when I asked God to open my eyes to how His Word could mold me into being more like Jesus. Did it make me suddenly more righteous and less sinful? Not exactly… I still falter and fail Him daily, but instead of leaning on my own abilities, I have learned to turn to Him, confess my failures, and ask for guidance to do better.
For me, because I can only share what I have experienced: the shocking realization that God wants Lordship over every aspect of our lives, not just Sundays, not just the things that easy to give Him. He wants it all! But, He won’t take it. We must give it to Him.
As we head into this month of June, consider these questions:
What portions of your life are you holding back from God?
What are the things that you fear surrendering to Him?
What are the secret things that pop into your mind when you consider allowing God into every aspect of your life?
How do you think your life would change should you give God His proper place as Lord of your entire life?
These are the questions that plagued me in 2020 as I began to really understand what God desires from us. The level of fear and trepidation I felt as I considered allowing Him into every area of my life was beyond anything I had experienced up to that point. I knew His power and His might. I knew His Holiness and justness. I knew that He knew me deeply, I wasn’t sure that I was prepared to open myself up to the changes He was asking of me.
Is there a cost of discipleship? Oh yes, and there have been times during the past few years that I wasn’t sure that I could bear the weight of what He asked me to do. There have been times when I haven’t understood what He was doing. And there have been times when my eyes have been enlightened and I can look back and see His providence in my life… even though it hurt to get there, the destination was so much better than I could have ever planned for myself.
God is Good… all the time. He wants to share that goodness with you in a way you can’t even imagine.
