Seeing What God Wants Me to See
It may be a reflection of my age, but I discovered that the low wattage lamps in the kitchen and guest area did not provide enough brightness for me to read the small print in my Bible early each morning. In order to read the print, especially the red print in the New Testament, I had to shine a small high intensity flashlight on each page. Without that extra illumination it would not have been possible for me to read God’s Word.
Perhaps some of you are thinking, as I often have, that there are times when I have no trouble seeing the print or reading God’s Word, in fact I know a little something about how to study God’s Word, but I come away from it feeling like all I get out of it is just a bunch of words that don’t really speak me. It is a bit like reading the small print on the warranty for a wrist watch manufactured in China. It is boring to read, and even if you could actually read it, it seems too complicated to bother with. Over the past three or four weeks, we’ve been learning how to read and study the Bible, especially in the small groups. But maybe you’re saying, “It has been helpful but something is still missing, something important. I don’t seem to be seeing what I think God wants me to see. Well, I’d like to think with you about that for just a moment.
The Bible teaches us that God Himself, provides the special light we need in order to understand His Word, that is to see what He wants us to see. That light comes to us through the Holy Spirit who indwells every true believer in Jesus Christ. That is His ministry of illumination. Illumination is simply letting the Holy Spirit show me the meaning of God’s Word and how it applies to my life.
The apostle Paul tells us that we cannot see or understand God’s truth unless the Spirit of God first gives us illumination. Listen to what he says,
“…No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God…The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:11b – 14
The basic problem people have in understanding what God is saying to them in the Bible, is either that the Holy Spirit does not live in them, or that if He is living in them, they are grieving Him in some way, and therefore He has not opened the eyes of their minds and hearts. The inability to see what God wants us to see is a “me” problem, not a God problem. If I am not hearing God’s voice as I read the Bible and study it, it is either because He is not in me, or it is because He is in me, but I choose to live as if He is not. Pastor Rick Warren has suggested five simple things we must do to be sure we can access the light we need to understand what we read in the Bible. I have adapted them slightly for this post.
One: I must become a member of God’s family.
“…Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’” John 3:3
“Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.”
“That is you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
Two: I must ask God to open my eyes.
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Psalm 119:18
“If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt.” James 1:5-6
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
Three: I must come with a humble attitude.
“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” Psalm 25:9
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6
Four: I must come with a clean heart.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8
“Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and he walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he’s going, because the darkness has blinded him.” 1 John 2:11
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9
Five: I must commit in advance to do what God says.
“Teach me, O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart.” Psalm 119:33-34
“Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James 1:22
About this matter of obedience, the late and great Oswald Chambers said,
“All God’s revelations are sealed to us until they are opened to us by obedience. You will never get them open by philosophy or thinking. Immediately you obey, a flash of light comes. Let God’s truth work in you by soaking in it, not by worrying into it. Obey God in the thing He is at present showing you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. We read tomes on the work of the Holy Spirit when… five minutes of drastic obedience would make things clear as a sunbeam. We say, “I suppose I shall understand these things some day.” You can understand them now: it is not study that does it, but obedience. The tiniest fragment of obedience, and heaven opens up and the profoundest truths of God are yours straight away. God will never reveal more truth about Himself till you obey what you know already….”
God does not want us to fail in our lives for the lack of knowing His will and purpose for us as revealed in Holy Scripture. So, He has provided light for us, illumination so that we all can see for ourselves, what He wants us to see in His Word. It requires us to become members of His family by new birth. It requires us to pray and ask Him for light to understand His Word. It requires us to approach His Word in humility, trusting His ways and not our own. It requires us to come to the Word of God with a clean heart with sins confessed. And, it requires us to commit ourselves to doing whatever He discloses to us, no matter what it is.
The wisdom of the eternal God and His Son Jesus Christ is not primarily for theologians and scholars. It is not primarily for pastors. It is for you, no matter your station in life. God loves you and wants to share Himself with you. So, He has given us the light of His Spirit. Will you use the light God has given to you? If you have never asked God for help in understanding His Word, why not ask Him before you open His Word? Try it this week! He’s longing to open your eyes, your mind and your heart.