Which Will You See?

Have you ever seen one of those black and white sketches that can be viewed in completely different ways? There is the traditional one that looks like a selection of odd shapes, but when your eyes relax, the name Jesus appears. Another of these sketches can be viewed as one of two women. The observer will either perceive an old, rather haggard woman or the profile of a young, vivacious beauty. At first glance the eye generally picks up one image for the other. When pointed out, the other image becomes clear.

Having recently seen this sketch of the two women, I found myself initially seeing the young, vivacious beauty. After some coaxing of my eyes to the lines pointed out to me, I could eventually see the elderly, frail woman. It took effort to focus on the elderly woman’s image. My eyes were continually drawn back to the other profile. But with this focus I could then readily see the older woman’s image. My eyes are now able to switch back and forth between the two images.

An analogy was made to this dual sketch, comparing it to the trials of life. When we look at circumstances do we see the energy of the presence and provision of God? Or do we immediately looked to the difficult, unpleasant circumstances in which we find ourselves? Are we seeing with the eyes of faith or the eyes of fear and defeat?

Having recently gone through and currently still in a rough situation, I was almost surprised that my eyes initially gravitated to the youthful life of that vivacious young woman. It often seems that the circumstances are far more clear to me than anything that God may be doing right now. There is no doubt that I will ultimately make it through this difficult time, but remaining positive is challenging. This is the time to remember the encouragement from the apostle Paul. “For we walk by faith [we regulate our lives and conduct ourselves by our conviction or belief respecting man's relationship to God and divine things, with trust and holy fervor; thus we walk] not by sight or appearance.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 AMP)

Looking with the eyes of faith, and not fear, we share the sentiments of King David. “[What, what would have become of me] had I not believed that I would see the Lord's goodness in the land of the living!” (Psalm 27:13 AMP) The Lord’s goodness is all around us even when negative circumstances block our views. Even glimpses of the promises of God can help us stand strong in difficult times.

When fear overcomes us and the negative is all that we can see, we can also be encouraged by the promises in Scripture. When the enemies were coming Elisha’s servant Gehazi was overcome with terror. “Then Elisha prayed, Lord, I pray You, open his eyes that he may see. And the Lord opened the young man's eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” (2 Kings 6:17 AMP) It was not the servant’s strength, but rather his master’s prayer that allowed him to see what God had already provided. This vision turned terror into excitement.

As trying times linger on, we can truly appreciate the promise of God to Jeremiah. “For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.” (Jeremiah 29:11 AMP) This verse is often given as encouragement, as rightfully it should be. But often we forget the Lord’s words just before this. ^“For thus says the Lord, When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you and keep My good promise to you, causing you to return to this place.” (Jeremiah 29:10 AMP) As the 70 years dragged on, this promise was no less true.

The land across the Jordan was given as a promise to the Israelites. Yet they had to go in and fight some battles in order to inhabit the promise. (See the book of Joshua) God was with them in the battles and they settled the land.

If you are in hard times and having difficulty standing strong, be encouraged. Every promise of God is true. Choose to see the beauty and refuse to focus on the difficulty.