Fresh Eyesight
Learning to See Again
by Dr. Sherry Reese
(Sherry Reese is a long term friend and fellow CMM Ordained minister)
Sometimes the simplest adjustments can have the greatest impact on our lives.
Recently, our Pastor challenged us to approach the Bible with fresh eyes and read it without preconceptions. If you have been walking with Jesus for a while and read the Bible consistently, it is fair to assume that your Bible is marked up like mine with underlining, nuggets of revelation, and notes you’ve compiled along the way. So reading it as if for the first time is hard. Sadly, we see the notes and stop digging for anything deeper.
Our Pastor then went so far as to suggest we purchase new Bibles, free of any notes. I thought, well, why not, and I accepted the challenge! It was perfect timing, as my go-to Bible, which my husband bought me many years ago, was getting harder to read because of the font size, lol. So I found a larger font that I liked and waited.
My new Bible finally arrived, but to be honest, I wasn’t expecting anything other than it being easier to read the larger font. Much to my surprise, something very unique began to unfold. Without the dog-eared pages and all the notes sticking to my old Bible, when I opened it for the first time, it felt different. Like a new start. So I decided to change my approach and ditch the “get’er done” mentality, and take it slowly. I recently read a classic by a mighty woman of God from the 17th century, Jeanne Guyon. In her book “Experiencing the Depths of Jesus Christ,” she likens a slow, meditative reading of the Bible to a method of prayer and a gateway to encountering the presence of God.
If you are like me, you like to get things done and then move on to the next thing. I am very task-oriented, almost to a fault, and without realizing it, I have slipped into approaching my Bible reading with that same mindset. So many times after reading, if I am honest, I can’t even recall what I have read and have to start over! In this case, less is more…But we feel that if we spend our entire time reading only a couple of Scriptures, we have somehow wasted our time and not been productive. The pressure to do more and achieve more is always on our backs. It is a lie!
I have been a student of the Word for many years and know that the Word of God is a spiritual book. It has the power to transform any life that submits to it, but we need the Holy Spirit to bring it to life. Without realizing it, I was in performance mode rather than patiently sitting at the feet of the Teacher.
“Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law.” Ps. 119:18 NKJV
For the last month, I have been reading the Book of Luke, and I can’t seem to move on. Sometimes I don’t even finish a chapter for several days. It wasn’t that I hadn’t put in the time; I’m just “seeing” things differently. I have fresh eyes. God is showing me fresh revelation and nuggets of gold at every turn. I am not reading to gain context, to research, or to pull together a message, but to receive from the living Word Himself.
I encourage you, if you have fallen into the same rut that I was in, to take some time and ask Him to adjust your eyesight. In doing so, you will begin to see the rich treasure hidden within the pages of His Word. He will meet you at the table as you break open the Word and dine together.
Encountering God is the greatest pursuit you and I could ever have in this life.
Blessings!