PITIK-BULAG: Unveil My Eyes, Let Me See You and Others
“Yesterday was history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called present.” – Master Oogway
Today, I continue to choose to be happy, hopeful, and alive. When I wake up every morning, I thank God that I am alive. For without the gift of life, I may not be able to do what’s ahead of me every day. It is indeed fitting to begin the day with thanksgiving for the blessings of a new day – a new opportunity to know, love, and serve God.
What are you grateful for today? In the midst of a pandemic, could you name three blessings of the day? Pray for the gift of inner eyes to see that God is at your side. He will never abandon nor forsake you. He loves you so much. Pause for a minute and thank Him from your heart.
The gift of inner eyes is indeed important to possess every day. Our eyes to heavenly things or God’s movement is so weak and blurred. We easily distracted with “lesser things” or “useless anxieties.” But failed to easily recognize God’s wonderful plans for us.
In Matthew 13: 10-17, the Lord expressed his frustrations to his disciples, ” You listen and listen, but never understand! Look and look, but never perceive!” But he is also talking to us. We know this true. We say we don’t understand God’s mysterious ways. Sometimes, we question our faith or even his love for us.
Why such failure to see and to hear him in our lives? If we can only see God’s hands in our daily activities and struggles in life, all our fear, anxieties, and wounds will melt away. But sad to say, WE FAILED TO SEE AND HEAR God.
To see and hear Jesus is grace. It’s given to someone who is genuinely desiring to see and listen to Jesus. Are you really really really seeking God every day? Or just in the level of desire but not in doing something?
Here are some reasons from Matthew 13: 10-17 for such spiritual blindness:
1. HARDENING OF THE HEART. The Holy Spirit will have a hard time to penetrate a hardened heart. How’s your heart? What is your inner resistance? Any sins, resentment, or inordinate attachments that block you to listen to God? Jesus said, “This people’s heart has grown coarse.” (Matthew 13:15).
2. FAILURE TO PRAY DAILY. To have the inner eyes is grace, I need to beg for it daily. I need to convince God that I really want it. I need to dispose of myself to receive it – and only in prayer. How’s your prayer life? What do you really pray daily? Have you ask God, “Lord, I want to see.” How frequent? “To you is granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them, it is not granted.” (Matthew 13:11)
3. THE DESIRE TO CHANGE OUR WAY AND BEG GOD FOR HEALING. Everyone morning, before asking for anything of your need, beg Him to heal your wounded heart and change your hardened heart. Jesus said, “Ask and you shall receive.” (Matthew 7:7).
Life is a mysterious parable. It has many lessons to learn. Sometimes even painful experiences bring out the best in us. Unfortunately, most of the time, we simply allow the day to pass without learning something from it – and without thanking God for such a beautiful day – because we failed to see him walking with us, twenty-four hours a day.
Pause for a while and beg for the inner eyes.
Dear God,
touch my eyes and let me
see things through your eyes.
I want to see THINGS
through your eyes.
I want to see PEOPLE
through your heart.
I want to see my DAY
according to your plans.
Let my eyes find GREAT JOY
in simple and ordinary things.
Let my eyes SEEK THINGS
that will make you smile.
Let my eyes SEE YOU even
in my darkness and failures.
Let not my tears of SADNESS,
blind me from seeing your blessings.
Let not my biases and PREJUDICES,
stop me from loving even my foes.
Let not my eyes be DISTRACTED
by things that won’t last forever.
Let me look at my PAST,
and learn from my mistakes.
Let me look at my PRESENT,
and know that you’re with me.
Let me look at my FUTURE,
with faith and confidence.
O God,
Lord of Light,
cleanse my heart from my sins.
And allow me to see my own beauty,
so that I can see the beauty of others.
Amen.
– Pitik-Bulag
