His eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. (Mark 8:25)
You and I, dear
friends, individually, and if we belong to a company of the Lord's people, that
company, will only make progress toward that full, ultimate end of God in Christ
if we have a spiritual vision of Jesus Christ. Vision is essential to progress.
Is it necessary for me to stay with the word "vision"? I am not thinking about
something objective that you see with your eyes of flesh. It is something that
has happened inside of you, and your inner spiritual eyes have been opened. You
can say, "I have SEEN, and that has revolutionized my life. That has put
me on my feet. That has set me on a course. That has become a dynamic in my life
which, in spite of myself, keeps me going." Yes, thank God, it works like that.
I know the aspect,
the factor, of our responsibility, but God help you and me if it is all going to
be left to our responsibility and what we do! I tell you – and this may have
been your experience, or it may interpret your present experience – many, many
times I would have given up the race. That is an awful confession! Indeed many
times I have given it up in my heart. It became so difficult that I could go no
further, so I gave up. It was not, therefore, my persistence that enabled me to
go on, but what the Apostle calls "the power that worketh in us." What is that?
The Holy Spirit has put a dynamic in us and we have seen. We cannot un-see! We
cannot go back. The seeing may fade, and it may even be eclipsed by days of
darkness and trouble. We may know what Paul meant when he said: "We were pressed
out of measure, beyond our strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life" (2
Corinthians 1:8). That was a terrible thing for the greatest of all apostles to
say! What happened? Did Paul give up and say: "Well, I cannot go on!"? No, not
at all! "The power that worketh in us" got him on his feet again and again. Let
Elijah seek out his juniper tree and say: "Take away my life!", but the Lord
does not agree. He has given Elijah a part in His great, eternal purpose, and so
he will come up again.