Keep the Vision

Delaney Johnston penned our devotional this week. Be sure to head over to the contributor’s page to learn more about her.

A few months ago, I first heard the term “myopic faith.” Sounds fancy, but what is it? Well, myopia is essentially a health condition commonly known as “nearsightedness.” When someone struggles with myopia, he struggles with discerning the big picture. He can only focus on what’s right in front of him because the distant seems blurry, foggy, and out-of-focus. 

Spiritually speaking, we, as believers, oftentimes struggle with myopic faith. 

We focus on our problems.

We focus on our pain. 

We focus on the hurt, on the worry, on the fear of today, yet we forget the beautiful promises of eternity—promises that are just as true on the mountaintops as they are in the valley. 

When we’re viewing life through the lens of myopic faith, we can only see the right here, right now—we lose sight of what God is doing behind the scenes, and we grow discouraged . . . just like Asaph in Psalm 73.

We see the curated feeds of our friends, and we grow discouraged. Why can’t that be me? 

We watch as the people around us live the lives we’ve always dreamed of living, and we grow ungrateful. When will it be my turn? 

We believe ourselves to be lightyears behind the rest, and we grow fruitless. What’s the point? 

Ultimately, we lose vision. 

Just like Asaph. 

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In verses 16-17, however, we see that Asaph does a major 180 as he comes to discern the truth. He writes, “When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me; Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.” 

You see, when Asaph shifted his perspective from man to God, his vision grew much clearer. 

When he rested in the promises of God, his heart great much lighter. 

He remembered the end of the wicked. 

He remembered the goodness of God. 

And, he remembered the promises awaiting him as God’s child. 

He got his vision back. 

——————

Now, if we’re honest with ourselves, we’re quite a bit like Asaph. 

We see the wicked prosper, and we grow envious.

We see the righteous aching, and we grow disheartened. 

We see hurt in the eyes of those we love, and we question, “Why not the wicked?”

To put it simply, we lose our vision. 

But even when life seems confusing, even when frustration seems paralyzing, and even when the wicked seem to be prevailing . . . God is still at work, accomplishing His perfect plan for our good and His ultimate glory. 

He is sovereign, and we can rest in that. 

Keep the vision, friends. 

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” — Galatians 6:9