Baton Rouge. It’s been home for 6 out of these past 8 years. I don’t know if I’ll be living here next year. I don’t know if I want to be. I don’t know where I’ll be, and I don’t really know where I want to be. I don’t know what kind of job I’ll have, or what kind of company I’ll be working in. I don’t know how long singleness will last; heck I don’t know how long my life will last. But complaining about what I don’t know right now and about what I wish I knew won’t help me get through today well.

Not knowing the future is a part of life. Sometimes we can’t even remotely see what’s next and that can be scary. But we know who not only knows but has ordained what’s next. Of course it sounds cliche but it’s true and it’s about time I start believing and hoping in that, because sulking in my unknowns and worries and anxieties sure doesn’t make for a healthy heart and mind. But it is what it is – I am where I am and I know what I know. So with that, I have to live where I am with what I know. Focusing on just that – where I am, not where I’m not, and what I know, not what I don’t. And what do I know? I know a whole lot about my God. And the state of my heart hasn’t really reflected what I know about Him lately. I severely lack confidence and joy day to day like I don’t have a clue whose I am. I fear my future like I don’t believe in the One who’s gone before me. I fight my recurring sins like I don’t have the Spirit living within me to fight my battles in His power. It’s seeming like I expect very little from a very immeasurable God because I just don’t see a lot of positives in my future adulthood as far as the world would define it.

I have tons to be thankful for and I absolutely am humbly aware and grateful but my mind tends to harp on the uncertainties of life and the rejections and failures I’ve come to know. My focus is off. It’s often inward instead of upward. And my sight is just messed up. I feel so nearsighted, as if I’m only able to see the closed doors in front of me, and there’s a handicapping astigmatism blinding me as well, blurring whatever else lies in the distance and making it so hard to see where I’m supposed to go.

It’s tough to see with nearsightedness and astigmatism if you don’t go to the eye doctor and get a prescription. I struggle with both, and when it gets dark outside and I go for a drive, good luck. I’ll be lucky if I can make out anything – lights, signs, cars. When you’re in a situation like this, danger is ahead but you can’t see it. Heck, you can’t tell if it’s danger or a perfectly safe situation when you don’t have glasses on to clear up your vision. But if you’ve been to the eye doctor, who has the knowledge and skill to diagnose your eyesight issues and the power to prescribe the lenses you need, that’s a good place to be. Only step one, but an essential first step. From there you can take action to buy the glasses you need from what the optometrist told you. It’ll cost you a little but the benefits far outweigh and outlast the costs. Your glasses will make things clear that once were blurry and you’ll be able to see further than just what’s in front of you. You can take off the glasses anytime. Sometimes, though helpful, they might be uncomfortable to wear so you may take them off. If you do, you might be more comfortable for a time but you won’t be able to see what your glasses enable you to see.

When I first started wearing glasses, it was pretty cool – they brought definition to the details. I could see things off in the distance with more clarity. I went from seeing to double to having things come into focus. Life became a little more beautiful. Life itself hadn’t changed; just the way I saw it.

Adjusting to glasses takes time. You gotta get used to putting them on and wearing them throughout your day. As with changing your perspective and growing in your trust of the Lord. It takes time. One morning in the word and prayer doesn’t snap you out of a bad attitude and guarantee you won’t be hit with more adversity. It actually is more of a guarantee that you’ll be hit with things you’re not hoping for. But view the bummers and disappointments and adverse situations as opportunities. They’re here whether you like it or not, so make the most of it. Don’t give up and give in to the enemy pushing you into the ground. Stand up. Take heart. Cling to the promises of God. Look at life through the lenses He gives you. Hold fast, the horizon is out of sight right now. That’s where faith comes in.

Clearer sight doesn’t deem faith irrelevant. It enhances faith. Wearing the glasses display the fact that you believe the prescription is right and the glasses are good for you. Actively wearing your glasses show that you trust the doctor’s orders, so to speak. Trust. The root of learning to trust is learning to obey. You can’t be trusting God if you’re not obeying Him.

A pair of glasses won’t give you x-ray vision. You won’t be able to see through obstructions to miles and miles off in the distance. That’s just not possible and no one expects inhuman, limitless abilities with a pair of glasses. Sometimes, though, you can see more but you have to change perspectives to find an unobstructed view. And some things you just can’t see yourself so you have to look at something else to give you the proper vantage point to see the blind spot – like rear view mirrors.

I think you see my point. God’s the eye doctor here. Moreover, He’s the Great Physician. Don’t expect ridiculous things from Him, but don’t expect too little either. You gotta go to Him first if you want Him to meet your need. But when you go to Him, you gotta listen and do what He tells ya is gonna help you. If you don’t, you’re wasting the appointment. And what good is buying a pair of glasses if you don’t wear them?

Funny we can complain about not seeing well when we have the tool necessary to allow us to see 20/20. Don’t leave your method of seeing clearly on the shelf. Your godly perspective of wisdom does you no good collecting dust. Use it or lose it. When you don’t wear your glasses for a while, your eyesight gets worse because you keep straining your eyes to see beyond their ability in your own power, then you end up needing a heavier prescription. Don’t get to that point. Choose to see clearly every day.

The analogy falls apart in that you typically only need to see your optometrist annually…but you need to talk to God daily. Listen to Him daily. Read His Word daily. When you change the way you look at things; the things you look at change.