Isn’t that the way life often is—everything is fine until we are faced with a test? The question then becomes, is our spiritual eyesight strong enough to see beyond the test to the promise God made to us?
People get around every day with impaired spiritual sight, thinking that if they can see enough to avoid getting hurt, they have successfully navigated life. But with only one good eye, they have no depth perception.
They can only guess at distance. They are never able to know with confidence how far they have come and how far they must go in their walk with God.
Overcoming Spiritual Blindness
Most of us have learned how to operate at some level of spiritual blindness. We hear the voice of God, but we cannot see His promises clearly. We feel our way along because we fail to see the plan and purpose He has set before us.
Unfortunately, we will never see the full extent of the territory God wants to give us—we will never experience increase—until our spiritual vision is corrected and our eyes of faith are opened.
Caleb was one man who saw with spiritual eyes. He and Joshua, along with 10 other Israelites, were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. (You can read the story in Numbers 13 and 14.)
Upon their return, Caleb and Joshua gave an optimistic report based on what they saw through the eyes of faith. They looked past the giants and other significant obstacles to the generations to come that would one day possess a promised land of milk and honey.
The 10 other spies, however, reported what they saw with their physical eyes through the filter of fear. Even though they carried in their hands evidence of the bounty of the territory God had placed before them, their report described only the physical limitations that the land presented.
Unfortunately, the Israelites chose to accept the report of the 10 fearful men over the report of Caleb and Joshua. As a result, an entire generation ended up wandering blindly through the wilderness, never setting eyes on the territory God had promised to give them.
But Caleb never forgot what he saw. Forty years later, when he finally re-entered the promised land with a new generation of Israelites, he claimed his territory. The rest of the Israelites received their parcels through the drawing of lots.
Caleb had already seen the land. He already knew where he wanted to stake his claim and raise his descendants. He didn’t care that the biggest giants lived smack in the middle of his territory; he knew that with God’s help, he would drive them out.
He saw!
Caleb’s land became known as Hebron once he finally took possession of it. God will change the name of your territory, too, once you set your borders and drive out whatever giants are there.
Maybe you’ve nicknamed your land “Hatred” or “Depression.” Maybe you’ve known your territory simply as “the kids” or “the job.” That’s because your spiritual vision has been impaired, and you have yet to see the wonderful plan God has for you.
God wants to heal your spiritual vision and show you the full extent of the territory He has marked out for you. He wants to open your eyes of faith to see the increase He desires to bring into every area of your life.
Your territory is limited only by your eyesight. How far can you see?
Shirley Arnold is pastor, along with her husband, Steve, of TLC Family Church in Lakeland, Fla. They have also established the Spirit Life School of Theology, the Secret Place Associated Network of Ministries and the Secret Place Training Facility. She is the author of several books and ministers in churches and conferences around the world.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett