What do you see in your future? Is your eye filled with darkness or light? There has been an increase of evil released in the world. But there has also been an increase of God’s glory released in the world. I have seen so much pain and brokenness arising from hearts as they are falsely accused, betrayed and removed from a position of favour. And yet many people have also been experiencing unprecedented dreams, visions, encounters, trances, etc. It is all about our eye, which is our focus.
Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! Matthew 6:22-23 NLT
It is our perspective and our focus which will determine the state of our heart. And the state of our heart will determine how we respond to the world around us. If we see darkness, this is what will fill our hearts. We become blind and hopelessness sets in. But when we see lights, we are filled with light and our focus is healthy. God desires for us to be healthy and whole.
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are healthy, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are unhealthy, your body also is full of darkness. See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you. Luke 11:34-36 NIV
Jesus was not speaking about the eyes of our body, but the eye (or eyes) of our heart. It is the inside eyes which bring light or darkness to our body.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, Ephesians 1:18 BSB
When the eyes of our heart have light, then we know hope. Then we know riches. Then we know the inheritance we have.
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called--his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 NLT
This is our sure foundation in a world which seems to be increasing in wickedness around us. So many people are filled with fear and hopelessness according to what they are focused on. With so much confusion and offense in the world around us, we have a lot to deal with in our hearts. A massive key to deal with the offenses is forgiveness, working in our hearts through God’s unconditional love. But what is we could avoid offense in the first place? God has been talking to me about staying in peace in the midst of all the chaos around us. It we stay in peace, the chaos and confusion cannot even penetrate our heart with offense or fear.
You will keep perfectly peaceful the one whose mind remains focused on you, because he remains in you. Isaiah 26:3 ISV
The word for mind is more literally translated as “creative imagination”. So we have peace when our imagination is focused on God. This is how we remain, dwell and abide in God. Our imagination is the eye of our heart. Our imagination is the way we are filled with light or darkness, hope or hopelessness, fear or love.
Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 1 John 4:18 NLT
Light is more powerful than darkness. And so is love more powerful than fear and hope more powerful than hopelessness. Light dispels darkness.
For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. 2 Corinthians 4:6-7 NLT
God has brought forth light into our hearts so we can see the face of Jesus. This is the light which shines inside our hearts. And darkness has no power to overcome the light of Christ.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5 ESV
You will help them understand and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's control to God. Acts 26:18 ISV
Here we can understand that to live in the darkness is to be under Satan’s control. So when we have healthy focus and we are living in the light; we are no longer under Satan’s control, but we are now living in God’s kingdom.
So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:6-7 NLT
If we are living in a state of spiritual darkness, we are not truly in a healthy relationship with God. We are lying to ourselves. We are blind and unhealthy. Yet, but simply turning our attention and focus to God, we walk in true light and fellowship not only with God, but with each other. When we are focused on darkness, we begin to get caught up in offense and see others through eyes of fear as though they are the source of our pain and suffering.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12 ESV
Our wrestle is not our fellow humans. The powers of darkness are the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We are not to demonise what we don’t understand. God wants us to look through eyes of love. So often we quickly accuse and judge people in our hearts as though they are the demon in our lives, but we have been looking through eyes of fear. God’s love is not in us when we see darkness in people.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 NLT
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 ESV
Let us look again at Ephesians chapter one. These are the wonderful treasures which we receive when our eyes are open. This is what we see with the imagination eyes of our heart.
I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints,
and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. He displayed this power in the working of His mighty strength,
which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
And God put everything under His feet and made Him head over everything for the church,
which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. Ephesians 1:18-23 BSB
Look into the passage again. Once our imagination eyes are opened and we are healthy, we see the light of God in everything around us.
- We see and know by personal experience the hope and God’s call on our life.
- We see and know firsthand the inheritance we now have.
- We see the greatness and power of God displayed to us.
- We see and experience the mighty resurrection strength of Christ.
- We see Christ seated on the throne in the heavenly realms.
- We see the authority of Christ’s over and above every other name.
- We see the power of Christ over what is now and what is to come.
- We see that everything is under the authority of Christ.
- We see Christ as our head of governmental authority.
- We see and recognise the fullness of God filling every part of our lives.
How beautiful is the promise God gave through Isaiah long before Jesus came to the earth, that the darkness of the blind would be turned to light and they would be brought into level ground so that we will not stumble.
And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 ESV
What do you see in your future? Is your eye filled with darkness or light?