Squinting a Little
by Peter Brokaar
My son has a wonderful teacher. Recently she noticed that he started squinting in the class room. She mentioned it to us, so my wife took him for an eye-test. Now he proudly wears glasses! I must say that I think he looks really handsome!
The squinting, noticed by the teacher, was an outward sign, which indicated a possible eye-sight problem. We notice things on the outside which can indicate there’s things needing attention on a deeper level!
There might be areas in your spiritual walk where you find yourself having to ‘squint’- having to spend an unusual amount of effort in areas that seem to be easy for others around us.
What if we have to ‘try really hard’ to feel God’s love? Or what if feeling restful and relaxed seems elusive? Perhaps we struggle with relationships, or we find it hard to bear social situations. It could be that we find it hard to be ourselves in a natural way, always having to either perform or hide. Maybe we struggle with accepting compliments, affirmation or encouragement.
Any of these things would point to the fact that, on the inside, there’s a deeper struggle going on. We might tend to try and ignore our ‘spiritual squints’ as much as possible, but that way nothing gets fixed! Instead, we can choose to make them areas of opportunity for the Lord to change us, to help us with that place of struggle on the inside. There’s a link between your daily ongoing struggle and the deeper underlying problem. You can ask the Lord to show you that link. That way He can bring deep healing and true transformation.
You could pray, “Lord, why is it that I find these things so difficult? Will You show me how you want to help me. Will You show me Your truth about this problem, and Your way of handling it”. If we have this attitude, then our areas of struggle become points of connecting with the Lord. As He starts to help us, we get to know Him in yet a deeper way.
The amazing thing is that my son’s in no way ashamed of needing help with his eyesight. He’s rather pleased with his glasses! We, too, don’t need to be embarrassed that we might need help. I encourage you to be honest with the Lord (and perhaps also with others) about your daily struggles. God can do amazing things when you come to Him like a child who says “please will You help me?”
Prayer: Father in heaven, You know the specific ongoing areas I struggle in, where I have to put in so much effort to ‘get it right’. Will You please show me the underlying issue here, and help me to receive Your help, and walk in Your way. Thank You so much. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Peter Brokaar is Director of Ellel Ministries Scotland and has been there together with his wife Liz since 2005. They have 3 kids, all born in Scotland! In his free time he likes reading, cooking, running and surfing. Being at Ellel Scotland has given him the privilege of getting to know God deeper and sharing that joy with many others.
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.
