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&In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths&

“Eye Posture”

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"And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only." Matthew 17:7-8. These two wonderful verses of scripture tell of how that Peter, James and John had been witness to the transfiguration of Jesus and how that they were frightened by the voice of God proclaiming that Jesus was His Son. That voice nearly scared the life out of those men, but the Lord comforted them when He touched them and told them not to be afraid.

The Lord so graciously gave me this little article beginning about a week ago for my own benefit as well as I believe many others. And it is my earnest prayer that I will be able to learn from it and that it will serve as a very real blessing to those who will read it. Lately, the devil has really fought me and at times when there seems to be no end to it and I cannot stand, he has really hindered my growth as well as my service to the Lord. I believe with all my heart that I am not the only one who has faced this kind of trial. And though it is truly hard, I equally believe that there is a way to overcome it and that this victory as well as all the other victories is found in Jesus Christ.

I won't go into all that the devil has fought me with, because that would surely take a long time and might prove to be boring to some. But last week, on the day before my birthday, the Lord so graciously allowed me to get a piece of steel in my eye. Now I know that some may say that they cannot see how that getting a piece of steel in ones eye could be considered gracious. Well, believe me, it truly was so very gracious and I am so thankful that the Lord allowed it to happen, because the suffering I endured because of it was nothing compared to the beating I have been taking from the devil lately.

You will notice that I said I got a piece of steel in my eye, instead of saying that I got a piece of steel in one of my eyes. That's because, I only have one eye that I can see with. That piece of steel was in my good eye and that made things not only uncomfortable, but dangerous as well. Well, on my birthday, I saw the company nurse and three different doctors before I finally got the steel out of my eye. My eyesight in that good eye has been going downhill for about a year now and after getting that piece of steel out of my eye, I found it to be worse. The only trouble I was having was in seeing things close up, which my wife tells me is called farsightedness. I haven't figured that one out yet, but I believe her. Anyway, we went to get me some glasses to read with and we found a pair that I could see the words very clearly with. My wife tried to talk me into getting some bi-focals and when I tried on a pair, that line in the middle was very bothersome to me so I decided not to get them. After paying for the glasses, I was going to just start wearing them and my wife informed me that I couldn't wear them all the time, because I would trip over the parking lot. Well, through my stubbornness, I found that to be true. So, a few days later I went back to the store and got the bi-focals like I should have done to begin with.

I know that some may be asking by now, just what all this has to do with "eye posture" or the many battles we face with the devil. Plenty. First of all, I should have listened to my wife when she tried to get me to purchase the bi-focals, because she is the expert on glasses. She has been wearing visual aids most of her life. God is the expert and His Word is our recourse in defeating the devil. Then, when I got the bi-focals and started home with them on, I found the line in the middle to be not only a hindrance, but very dangerous. As I was driving down the road I kept catching myself looking throught the bottom part of those glasses. And when I did that, I found everything to be blurred. I kept having to re-adjust the posture of my eyes and look up in order to see clearly again and to see the way to go.

Peter, James and John, in the time of their fear, found themselves looking down. What was it that brought comfort to them of their fear? It was the touch of the Master's hand. And it was when they looked up that they saw no man, save Jesus only. My friend, the devil is an expert in getting us to look down where we cannot see, but God is the expert in defeating Satan and we should and must listen to Him. The only thing that can calm our fears in these battles is the touch of the Master's hand and it is only when we look up that we can see clearly and see no man save Jesus only. Now, I have not yet mastered the art of wearing bi-focals and I have not yet mastered the art of fighting the devil, but I know that I must look up and see Jesus. I sincerely hope that this little article will be of a great help to all who will read it and I know from experience that it is much easier said than done when in the heat of battle, so we all must pray for one another. God bless you!