What Glasses Are You Wearing?
by Joan Rono
As I was cleaning the creativity room, I saw a collage with a sticker which asked, “which glasses are you looking through?” I couldn’t get this sticker out of my mind for a long time, and kept thinking about it.
My thoughts went back to the spies who were sent to Canaan to explore the land. Joshua and Caleb came with positive, encouraging news, whilst the others brought discouraging news. They saw themselves as grasshoppers before the inhabitants of the land. Each of them looked at the same thing, but what glasses were they wearing?
When Gideon was about to lead an army against the Midianites, he had a big army, but God told him to ask those who were afraid to return home (Judges 7:3).
It’s true that, when we face a discouraging situation, we can either look at it through God’s eyes, or through our own eyes. We can then go on to make wrong choices, based on our feelings of fear and anxiety.
In life, there are many things which come our way and cause us to feel afraid or discouraged, but how are we looking at these situations? How does the Lord want us to see them?
Conquering Canaan was a big challenge, as the Anakites were giants, and there was every reason to be afraid and discouraged. But instead of looking at the situation through God’s eyes, the fearful spies looked at it with their human understanding. Their eyes saw the situation magnified to such an extent that they saw themselves as grasshoppers.
Joshua and Caleb were wearing a whole different pair of glasses. They looked, and saw victory, opportunity, and possibility, because they looked at the situation through the Lord’s eyes. They could make the right choices, as their focus was in the right place. If Gideon had taken the fearful men along, they might have made the right choices, or they might have turned back in fear and discouragement.
Are you making choices based on fear and discouragement, or are you looking at the situation through the eyes of the Lord? Which glasses are you wearing?
Prayer: Lord, I first want to thank You for the situation I’m facing, because this is an opportunity for You to glorify Yourself, and for me to be built up in You. Give me the courage I need, and clear eyes to see this situation Your way. Remove fear and discouragement from my heart and mind, and give me true courage and faith. All things are possible with You. Amen.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.