Living Blindly

What if you were blindfolded and someone you trusted gave you instructions to move from point A to point B? Would you follow their instructions? What if you were given two presents to choose from, one unwrapped, one wrapped? Would you take a chance and pick the wrapped gift not knowing what lies inside? Or, would you go with the sure thing? How about this one —what if you were deathly afraid of flying because you couldn’t see the pilot flying the plane, or couldn’t “take the wheel” yourself?

As we can see, each one of these scenarios involve trusting and not operating by sight. Stepping out on faith into the future God has for you requires living blindly….not seeing what’s ahead, but moving forward and taking the risks to walk into what might be the greatest blessing you’ve ever received.

When we think about the future God has in store for us, it’s also about surrendering and giving up all of “our” plans to allow God to exchange them with the plans “He” has for our life. Trust me, His plans are far better than anything we can ask, seek, or imagine! I think of all the many stories of failures and rejection that people have experienced that have kept them from picking up and trying something again. The fear of the pain from failure and rejection has caused them to retreat and no longer push forward towards the goal that God may truly have in place for them. But God tells us to press towards the mark. Philippians 3:14.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for and not seen. When seeking God’s plans for your life, more times than not, the big picture will not be laid out for you. God will allow you to see small glimpses of where He is taking you. The point is to allow Him to lead and guide you. Seek Him at every turn and not move ahead on your own accord.

Many times God gives us no glimpses, or even allows adverse situations to play out…for His utmost glory to be revealed. Take the story of Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus was dying. Lazarus, a friend of Jesus became sick. His sisters, whom Jesus also loved very much, sent a messenger to tell Jesus that their brother was deathly ill. They were hoping that Jesus would make Lazarus well and prevent him from dying. Jesus received the message but He did not act immediately. For the purposes of His glory, he waited two days to return to Bethany where Lazarus was. By this time, the man had died. When Jesus finally reached the family, Lazarus had been dead for four days. By now, the sisters and other followers of Jesus had lost faith. They expected Jesus to take swift action. Martha and Mary both told Jesus that “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus knew that He was going to answer their prayer, so He didn’t feel the need to prevent Lazarus from dying, but for the impact of His power to be made known through bringing a dead man back to life.

As it was with the two sisters, we can lose hope and believe that God is

not really there for us when we don’t “see” Him act. This is not the case. God is always there and wants to show us in mighty ways. When we’re living blindly, there may be a time where we may also feel stagnant, like things are not moving, so we have the tendency to step ahead of God. We have to be careful with this. Living blindly also requires us to live patiently, knowing that God is working, maybe just not in “our” timing. If we believe, God promises that we will see His glory. His word says, For I know the plans I have for you,… to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

In seeking God’s future for our life, we must be directed through the Spirit that is present within. Responding to those small tugs and promptings at your heart to do something, help someone, create something, or even remaining still, can be clues to His leading. When we’re trying to reach a particular destination, we need direction. Prayer, reading God’s word, and heeding the Holy Spirit are our keys to getting to where God wants us to be. Trust God— He’ll get you there securely, safely, and right on time!