Revelation 3: 18-19. [TPT] “Purchase eye salve to be placed over your eyes so that you can truly see. All those I dearly love I unmask and train.
Often I find myself feeling like I have a lack of vision. It’s like I see with my eyes, but get sidetracked with distractions, escapism and even lean towards delusions. In the past, people, even family members, have said that I am “so blind.” I pray for God to open my eyes, to real life, to reality, to the people around me, to God himself. There are often glimmers of answers to those prayers, and I have genuine hope that things will change. A couple of nights ago I was casually scrolling through emails in bed on my phone, and something caught my attention. It was a message from the people at the Passion Translation of the Bible. I am signed up for their email list, but I very rarely get anything through from them. The timing and content of this one was very interesting.
“From today forward, I am calling you to lay aside your blindness and take my healing eye salve-the revelation of my love…Take this healing eye salve of love to the people and watch what I do as you speak my words and see with my eyes.”
As I type this my eyes are gently glistening, and there is a real sense of excitement growing within my heart. Last night my wife and I were unanimously accepted as the next leading couple of our house group, to start after the summer. My wife has always taken the prospect of this with great confidence and well within her comfort zone stride. For me it has not been so straightforward. I really struggle (struggled?) with social anxiety and phobia, especially around people we know. Last night the room was very warm, it was nearly a full turnout of around 12 people. I later learned that externally I presented normal. Inside the waters were choppy, and it felt like I had to get out of there. But how could I? There was a long discussion about the future of the group, with lots of different opinions, and what it might look like under our leadership. I was too distracted by anxious feelings to take in a lot of what was said, but did manage to participate from time to time.
So, what is the vision for our lovely wee group of strong Christ-infused believers? We will take some more time to think, pray, and talk about this. The group seem very keen for us to have more of my wife’s popular creative prayer evenings, and the current leaders are looking forward to more “golden nuggets” of wisdom from me though.
Personally, I am excited about the things that God might show me. (and the group as a whole) About the truths He will speak to me to share with the group, and other people. The mysteries that He may choose to reveal and help me understand, for His glory.
“Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart…
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.”
encouragement from someone who has been through the fire 