20/20 Vision, but Blind?
Is this really happening, am I going blind? This can’t be the truth.. Those were my exact thoughts as I sat in the waiting room for an eye exam. A few days prior to the scheduling of this appointment, I was watching tv and it became blurry, I was having headaches, and the light in the kitchen was driving me insane. I didn’t wear glasses or have contacts, so I was little concerned.
Of course I did what any person in that situation would do, I sought out advice from the experts… Google. And with no surprise in under 5 minutes I nailed it, I was going blind- thanks Google.
SO with my new self-diagnosis, I started thinking what my life would be like if I could no longer see. I started thanking God immediately for my eyes and wondered if there were any surgeries to reverse this. After a few hours of worrying, I decided I should probably go get an eye exam- SO I scheduled the appointment and my sweet grandparents agreed to take me.
The Results
When I was finally called back they did a few different scans/test and the eye doctor sat down to talk with me about everything. As I was making my way back to my grandparents, I didn’t really know how I would break the news to them.
I approached my grandparents and my papa said, “Well what did you find out?” And I replied, “Hey turns out I have 20/20 vision and just need blue light glasses!” My papa burst out laughing and my nana goes, “Are you serious right now, Emilee?” Oh yeah, I was serious, not only serious I was relieved- BUT also was thinking how could I have convinced myself I was blind while having 20/20 vision at the same time? The devil really convinced me I was going blind. There’s a reason I am sharing this story.
THE DEVIL KNOWS SCRIPTURE
Friends, how many times have you had discouraging thoughts and lies creep into your mind? Hopefully, they don’t leave you like me, seeking advice form Google. But they can throw you off course. The devil loves to distract us and it’s our distractions that can keep us distant from God and the devil knows that. The devil knows the bible and guess what the crippling truth is? He may know it better than some of us and if he can get us in our blindspot, then he will get us to crash.
I love to use the story of Adam and Eve to display how the devil just needs a tiny inch to take a mile from us. All he has to do is get YOU to question the TRUTH that God has spoken to you. That’s all he needs. Let’s take a look at scripture for a moment:
conversation between the devil & EVE
The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”
“Of course not we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, “You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.”
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, and he ate it, too. At the moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness.
Genesis 3 :1-7
Half truths and a lie
Read the fist question the devil asked Eve again, “Did God really say you must not eat fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Through their whole conversation he was testing Eve by twisting in half truths and full lies- getting her to see things from his viewpoint. He does that to us too. He will put thoughts in our head that have “some truth” or even sound like “truth” and twist it.
Friends, this is why it’s so important that we stay in the word and memorize scripture- SO when the testing comes you have the answer and you’re not wavering between (A) and (B) because you already know the answer is (C) Christ.
Memorizing scripture helps us fight the enemy’s lies with God’s truth. We can learn from Eve- she entertained the devil right from the start. What if instead of going back and forth with the devil and continuing to give him access to us, we pray to God in that moment, glorifying who He is. A perfect example of this is from the movie The Passion Of The Christ:
When the devil is attacking you
In the opening scene Jesus is praying to God in deep distress in Gethsemane. This is moments before his betrayal. The devil appears off in the distance, but close enough to see and says to Jesus, “Do you really believe the one man car bear the full burden of sin?” How does Jesus respond? He prays the words, “Shelter me, O Lord. I trust in you. In you I take refuge.”
The devil tries again to taught and twist TRUTH, by saying, “No one man can carry this burden, I tell you. It is far too heavy. Saving their souls is too costly. No one ever. No.” Jesus replies again with prayer, “Father, you can do all things. My father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”
The devil is catching Jesus in one of his “weaker” moments. Jesus was distressed and the devil was speaking to his FEELINGS.
He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he became distressed. He told them, my soul is crushed with grief to the point of death.
Matthew 26:36-38
Friends, we can’t listen to our feelings. The devil will build upon those feelings, not with things that sound totally crazy, but things that align with how we are thinking/feeling.
We can learn from that example. Let’s not entertain the enemy’s thoughts. Let’s recognize what’s going on and pray to God. We can pray scripture over ourselves. We can fight the enemy’s lies with truth.
Lie vs. Truth
THE LIE : “I am alone and no one will / can help me.”
THE TRUTH: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isaiah 41:10
THE LIE: ” I have sinned too much, God can’t forgive me.”
THE TRUTH: “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
Hebrews 8:!12
LIE: “I am not good enough to follow Jesus, God could never use me.”
THE TRUTH: “You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.
John 15: 16
THE LIE: “I can’t take a step forward. What if it’s the wrong direction and I get separated from what God has planned for me?”
THE TRUTH: “Trust in the LORD with all of your heart; and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
When the enemy puts these negative thoughts in our minds, remember these truths. Just like my story with my vision, one small truth of the tv being blurry turned into a lie of me being blind.
Weigh out the discouraging thoughts, even if you need a test to do so. Sometimes, God may test us, but it’s the result of a test that brings us closer to the TRUTH.
Remember, God gives us weapons to fight the enemy:
Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground putting on the belt of truth and body armor of God’s righteousness.
Ephesians 6:13-18
For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on the salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
Pray in the spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
xx, Emilee
