Blindness

      Isaiah 42: 5 This is what God the LORD says—
the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out,
   who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it,
   who gives breath to its people,
   and life to those who walk on it:
⁶ “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
   I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
   to be a covenant for the people
   and a light for the Gentiles,
⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
   to free captives from prison
   and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

 ⁸ “I am the LORD; that is my name!
   I will not yield my glory to another
   or my praise to idols.
⁹ See, the former things have taken place,
   and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
   I announce them to you.”

 ¹⁰ Sing to the LORD a new song,
   his praise from the ends of the earth,
you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,
   you islands, and all who live in them…

 
¹⁶ I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
   along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
   and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
   I will not forsake them.
¹⁷ But those who trust in idols,
   who say to images, ‘You are our gods,’
   will be turned back in utter shame.

Although we may not be aware of it, we are all born blind and many remain blind throughout our lives.  We wander and stumble and slam into walls – then we act surprised that the wall was there, as if we think we can see where we are going.  We love to blame others for our faltering steps, or blame the wall for being there, or blame circumstances for our being in a situation where the obstacles were in our way.  Rarely do we realize our own blindness caused our fall.  But the truth is, as this Scripture in Isaiah indicates, we are the blind. Without the light of God, we will stumble; we will fall; we will crash into wall after wall. 

Christians, too, can be easily blinded.  No one is immune.  When we walk on a course of our own choosing (self-sufficiency), walking on unfamiliar paths without our Guide (self-determination), or getting distracted from focusing on Jesus every step of the way (self-centeredness), why are we surprised when things go awry?  Disaster waits closely around every corner.  The enemy, the prowling lion, is lurking in the darkness (his arena) licking his chops as we stumble off the path and away from God’s guiding presence and voice.  He quickly devours us, destroying everything he can in as short a period of time as possible.  And it doesn’t take long for us to crash and burn.  No wonder Jesus gave us so many examples of giving sight to the blind, so we could understand His role in our lives. 

These Isaiah verses tell us that God’s will for us is to be in the light with Him, walking side by side with Him as His partner and His love (covenant).  But we have a choice.  We can listen to His voice, and hold tight to His hand.  Or we can choose to follow self as god.  Which will you choose?  Light or darkness?  Blindness or sight?  If you choose to walk on your own, just don’t be surprised when you crash into a wall or fall over obstacles that you did not expect and did not see.  You are, after all, blind.