Oral Roberts used to say, “If you can see the invisible, you can do the impossible.” It is a staggering reality — even a frightening one in a way — that most of us have never completely thought through: the world we see is not the world as it truly is. That does not mean what we see is wrong. It means it is very, very incomplete. I believe God wants to take us on a journey of learning to see things differently.
The World We See Is Incomplete
As written in 2 Corinthians 4:18, “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (NKJV).
Picture me standing in one of my churches in Sturbridge, facing the back of the hall where my office is. You do not see what I see. I think I can see this room. If you think about it, though, what is actually happening is that light is bouncing off of things, and my eye, a bit like a camera, is capturing some of it. My brain is then creating a 3D hologram, if you will — a virtual reality of this room.
At the same time, there are a million different things passing through this room: particles, radio waves, X-rays, all kinds of spectrums of light that I cannot see. We see within a very narrow bandwidth. There are probably angels in this room that I cannot see. (There are no demons here — they are not invited.) My point is that there is a spiritual realm that is just as real, which we cannot see with the eye or hear with the ear apart from the grace of God or the gift of discernment. All of that is going on around us.
We See Through the Lens of Experience
Something else happens as well. We see things with our eyes — I can say, “This is a red pen. This is a cup with tea in it.” Yet when we see things, we also filter them through our own experiences. If you were ever stabbed with a pen (forgive me, it is a terrible analogy), you might see a deadly weapon here. If somebody had ever poisoned you with a cup of something, you might see a deadly drink.
Think of somebody walking through Liverpool, the city where I was born. It is a great city. In most cities, though, there are places to go and perhaps places not to go at three in the morning. If you are there but do not know the place, you may see a threat that is not there. You may fail to see a threat that is there. We see through the lens of our experience.
I would love you to catch this: God is really interested in opening our eyes and in changing and shifting our perception. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:12, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known” (NKJV).
You Relate to God as You Know Him to Be
I believe that, above all, God wants us to see Him as He truly is. This may offend some of you if you are overly theological in your thinking — though if you are truly theological, you will accept that it is true. You relate to God as you know Him to be, not as He actually is. Only in eternity will I truly know God as He is. The God I know is filtered through what I know of Him.
If you have been taught that God is cruel, harsh, and judgmental, then you will relate to a God who is like that. He is not like that — but He is to you, because you believe it that way.
Do you remember the parable in Luke 19? A nobleman gives his servants one mina each. One trades and gains ten. Another trades and gains five. One wraps his mina in a handkerchief and puts it away. When the master returns, that servant says, “I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow” (Luke 19:21, NKJV). The master answers, “Out of your own mouth I will judge you” (Luke 19:22). In effect, the master is saying, “No, I am nothing like that. Yet because you believe I am like that, I will be that to you.”
Simply put, if you believe in a God who saves but does not heal, you will receive salvation, but you will not receive healing.
Learning That God Is Generous
When I was younger, God called me to live by faith financially, which I have done for many years. At the time, I had what I would call a missionary’s viewpoint on God and finances. I thought God would supply your needs — but only just. I thought He would keep you above the poverty line and give you barely enough. I thought living by faith meant you needed to be willing to eat old food and wear cast-off clothes.
Now, I do believe we should be willing to do those things. I believe we should be willing to do anything for God out of love for Him. My problem was that I had an image of a God who was harsh and cruel, a God who said, “I will give you just enough.” I felt I constantly had to be saving God money. To be clear, God is not wasteful — but He is generous. He is extravagant. He is wonderful. He is amazing. What we see of Him determines how we will be towards Him.
I had to go on a journey for several years to learn that God was not like me when it came to provision. He was not as interested in saving money as I was. At times, He would — quote, unquote — “waste” money. Do you remember when Mary of Bethany poured perfume worth a year’s wages on the feet of Jesus? As John 12:3 records, “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair” (NKJV). Straight away Judas — who was stealing from the money box — objected: “Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” (John 12:5). That is a waste, he said. Again, we should not waste things in the kingdom of God. Jesus, however, looked at Mary’s offering and saw a good investment.
As Paul declares in Philippians 4:19, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (NKJV). Riches in glory — not barely enough.
See With the Eye, Perceive With the Heart
The point I want you to see and grasp is this: God sees and perceives differently, and He is interested in opening our eyes and showing us what we cannot see of ourselves. I believe He wants to change both what we see and what we perceive.
The verse Jesus quoted, I think, more than any other comes from Isaiah 6. As written in Matthew 13:14–15, “Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them” (NKJV). Jesus quotes it in different ways in different Gospels — that I should save them, heal them, deliver them, bring them My salvation — but it is really the same concept.
There is a progression here: see with the eye, hear with the ear, perceive with the heart. When you perceive with the heart, things change. You do not actually see with your eyes, though you think you do. You create that hologram with your eyes, but what you see with your eyes, you perceive with your heart. Here is the truth: two people can look at the exact same thing. One says, “This is amazing — what an opportunity.” The other says, “This is dreadful.”
My prayer for you is the prayer of Paul in Ephesians 1:17–18: “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened” (NKJV). May God open the eyes of your heart, not only the eyes of your face. May He give you perception and let you see as He sees — and above all, let you see Him as He truly is.
Scriptures for Study
2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 Corinthians 13:12, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:3, Hebrews 11:27, 2 Kings 6:17, Luke 19:12-26, Matthew 25:24-26, John 12:1-8, Mark 14:3-9, Philippians 4:19, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Psalm 34:8, Psalm 84:11, James 1:17, Matthew 7:11, Romans 8:32, Isaiah 6:9-10, Matthew 13:13-16, Mark 4:12, Acts 28:26-27, Ephesians 1:17-18, John 14:9, Hebrews 1:3, 1 John 4:16
10 Questions for Reflection
- In what ways is the world you see “very, very incomplete”?
- How aware are you of the spiritual realm that you cannot see with natural eyes?
- Which of your past experiences most shape the way you see people and situations?
- What were you taught about God’s character, and how has that affected the way you relate to Him?
- How does the servant’s view of his master in Luke 19 challenge your own view of God?
- Are there areas — healing, provision, guidance — where you believe in a smaller God than Scripture reveals?
- Have you ever felt you needed to “save God money”? Where did that thinking come from?
- How does Jesus’ response to Mary of Bethany reshape your understanding of generosity?
- What is the difference between seeing with the eye and perceiving with the heart?
- How would your life change if the eyes of your understanding were enlightened to see God as He truly is?
