ROCKVILLE

See Clearly and Align with God

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God wants us to see clearly, and He will not give up on us if we are seeking Him to lead us and heal our sight! In Mark 8:22-26, we read the story of a blind man healed by Jesus. We note that it was a very personal experience between Jesus and the man:

- He took the man by the hand and led him out of the town. We can imagine that the man may have been at least a little apprehensive to be taken out of the town by the hand of someone he could not see (in the physical)

– he trusted and desired to be healed. Jesus will lead us to new and different places and situations, different ways of thinking - in fact, a whole new life (2 Cor. 5:17) - if we trust Him and allow Him to lead us (Prov 3:5-6).

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- Jesus spat on the man’s eyes. The way Jesus chose to heal the man’s blindness was unique, different from other healings. He heals us in very personal ways. Typically, “healing” is defined as “make whole or sound, restore.” He wants to heal us physically, emotionally, spiritually, and even intellectually. God will show us things, answer prayers, convict us, and lead us in ways that are personal, unique, and often unexpected.

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- He asked the man if he saw anything. Do you ever hear Jesus asking you, “Do you see what is right in front of you (this opportunity)?” or “Do you see what I have done here?” or “Do you see the need I want you to address?” or simply, “What do you see?” He will ask us these things because, while His patience and grace abound during the process, He desires that we see clearly.

During his healing, the man did not see clearly at first, reporting, “I see men like trees, walking.” (v. 24) So, Jesus put His hands on his eyes again and he was completely healed. It was not in Jesus’ character to leave the man with a partial healing, but to fully restore his sight. That is His desire for all of us! The more I get to know Jesus, the less I am satisfied with partial healing – I want to fully see what God wants to show me!

 

In verse 26, Jesus sends the man away telling him, “Neither go into the town or tell anyone in the town.” Why does He tell this man (and some others after healing them) not to tell anyone, while at different times instructs people to do the opposite? In Mark 5:19, Jesus told the man He delivered from demons to go home and tell his friends everything the Lord had done for him. Since we know that He was in complete alignment with the Father, we can surmise that He was keeping the will of God in mind. God’s timing is perfect in how Jesus fulfilled prophesy and accomplished the Father’s plan. We also know that His ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts – His are much higher! (Isaiah 55:8-9). We may not always understand, but we can ask Him for discernment - to see clearly what He wants to show us.

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It is possible for us to clearly see one moment, and the next moment forget what we just saw or learned from Jesus. This is depicted in verses 27 to 33. Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do men say that I am?” and then “Who do YOU say that I am?” Men/others around them had different ideas about who Jesus is, but Peter answered, “You are the Christ (Messiah, Anointed One).” Peter got it right! After all, he spent every day with Jesus, watching Him and learning from Him. He answered the most important question of his life (and of ours), seeming to know exactly who Jesus is. But then (vv. 31-32) Jesus begins to teach them about how He will be rejected, suffer and be killed – and Peter rebukes Jesus! Imagine arguing with Jesus to His face… telling Him that He must be wrong! It seems irreverent, but I feel Peter’s heart at that moment – he did not want to hear that such things would happen to his Lord.

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Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!...” What a blow to Peter – but Jesus needed to wake him up. How could he proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah and then immediately disbelieve Him? We do this, too! There are things that the Lord tells us and shows us that we don’t always want to believe. Jesus states how Satan was trying to get ahold of Peter’s thinking when He adds, “…For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” The disciples were immersed in Jewish teachings and traditions before encountering Jesus, so they still had ideas that the Messiah would be a king with political and governmental authority – in a physical way – overthrowing Roman rule. That was not God’s plan. Are we stuck in our own thinking and understanding at times so that we cannot see clearly that God wants to do something new and different? (Isaiah 43:18-19)

 

Prayer for today:

Help me, Lord to see you clearly – what you want to do in me, what you want to show me, and where you want to lead me. Then help me to trust you with my whole heart and lean not on my own understanding and allow you to direct my path. I don’t want to let my own thoughts or the enemy of my soul come in and obscure what you are showing me. I want to be a doer of the Word (James 1:23-25) and be aligned as much as possible with your will and perfect timing. Thank you for your promise to transform me by the renewing of my mind.

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