Many in my generation will remember their moms telling them how much better their eyesight would be if only they would eat their cooked carrots. Not blessed with 20/20 vision myself, I was hopeful that my own mother was right, but carrots were never my favorite.
Today I have 20/20 vision, thanks to surgery, and eat cooked carrots just because they are good for me. That’s what adults do, right?
But what is it that will cure our poor spiritual eyesight? Why is it that often we languish because we “just don’t see” what God is doing, or we “just don’t see” how that promise can come true, or we “just don’t see” why this or that is happening to us?
First we must remember that the spiritual equivalent of eyes is faith. When we can’t see spiritually, it means we can’t or won’t believe. Just as Jesus warned, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear,” so also He explained that He had come to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, and leave those who claim to see, sightless. (John 9:39-41).
The New Birth opens our spiritual eyes that we no longer “walk in darkness” (John 8:12; 12:46). The Apostle Paul explained to King Agrippa that his missionary efforts began with Jesus telling him, “Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God” (Acts 26:17, 18).
This is why the writer to the Hebrews describes faith like this: “Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” He follows up with this description of the patriarchs (Hebrews 11:13, 14): “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking (‘looking for’) a homeland.”
So there you have it. When I am not seeing God clearly, and not focused upon His promises, I need to rethink my attitude, and build up my faith. I need to remember that walking by faith does not mean walking in darkness, but quite the opposite, with my eyes wide open, gazing at the ever-brightening future God has planned for those who love Him. See 2 Corinthians 5:6-10.
I have no idea whether eating carrots will help your vision, but I know that a renewed commitment to trust God will do just that.
““Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. . .”
Hebrews 12:2