Jesus’ miracles almost always caught the attention of the religious leaders. On one particular day, Jesus healed a man who had been blind since birth. This irritated the religious leaders that they called this man in to question him. When they didn’t get the answer they wanted from him, they called in his parents and questioned them. Still, they didn’t hear what they wanted to hear and that’s when they said, “We know God spoke to Moses, but we don’t even know where this man comes from” (John 9:2). This was a common theme throughout Jesus’ public ministry. He, the holy One of God – the awaited Messiah – was right in front of them but they couldn’t see it. They knew the Old Testament. They knew what had been prophesied about Jesus. But they failed to see. We might ask… Why? Why couldn’t they see Jesus? The answer? Their vision was clouded by jealousy. They couldn’t see beyond their jealousy.
I believe that many Christians fail to see also. They fail to see what God is doing, they fail to see the goodness of God, or they fail to see the movement of God. We might ask… Why can’t they see? They hear, they witness, they sit in church every Sunday? So, what is it? It’s their vision… their vision is clouded just like the Pharisees. There are many things that can cloud one’s vision, but here are three pronounced things…
Jealousy! Jealousy can cloud our vision in huge ways. King Saul failed to see what God was doing for Israel through His young servant, David, because of jealousy. The hand of God was mightily on David that the people sang, “Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7)! After this moment, we read in 1 Samuel 18:9: “So from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.” Jealousy can easily cloud our vision so we fail to see what good things God is doing in the church, in our friends’ lives, in our country, and in our loved ones. Jealousy is a powerful deterrent.
Hatred! Now, hear me… what I’m about to say has nothing to do with politics. But here’s what I’ve seen. The first time President Trump ran for office; Satan released a spirit of hate for him. It was so strong that many Christians fell under its power. The media fueled it. This hatred was so strong that families were divided, relationships were destroyed, and people were hurt by nasty and cunning words. This hatred clouded peoples’ vision that they failed to see the way God is moving in our country and answering the prayers of His people. Hatred is a powerful deterrent.
Bitterness! Naomi had gone through terrible things. Her husband had moved their family to a foreign country away from everything she knew and loved. In Moab, she lost her husband and both of her sons. All she had left was two foreign daughters-in-law. We know she was very bitter because when she arrived back in Jerusalem, she told the people to call her “Mara,” which means bitter. This bitterness clouded her vision so she failed to see the incredible blessing God had given to her… a beautiful daughter-in-law, who gave up her life to help and support a mother-in-law she loved. Bitterness is a root and it grows over time if we don’t nip it in the bud. Bitterness develops from bad things that happen to us. If we don’t let those things go and move on, bitterness will destroy everything good in our life. Bitterness is a powerful deterrent.
We must become aware if any of these things have captured our hearts and if we recognize it, we must find freedom at the cross. We don’t want to miss anything God is doing because our vision is clouded.