SPIRITUALLY BLIND

"And there came an angel of the LORD, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, 'The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valor'. And Gideon said unto him, 'Oh my Lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites'. And the LORD looked upon him, and said, 'Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?' And he said unto him, 'Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? Behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house'. And the LORD said unto him, 'Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man'."-(Judges 6:11-16)

I had the privilege very recently to minister once again with a great man of God, and a mighty man of valor, who, through partnership with his spouse, ministers worldwide in a truly anointed capacity. I speak of Harry Salem and his precious wife, Cheryl. Harry and Cheryl are dear to Jeni and I, and have served for many years now as a God-given and God-appointed example of the type of union in life and ministry that we ourselves share.
While I was ministering in worship before he was to speak, a precious anointing fell and the environment of faith enveloped the body of the church. I began to prophesy (albeit fairly restrained as I did not feel fully released to unleash that which God was revealing to me) and had two very remarkable experiences. First, as the anointing filled the very air itself, I began to see in the Spirit, and scanning the congregation, was drawn to a corner in the back of the sanctuary. I heard in my spirit "brilliance". Then, shielding my eyes from the spotlights, I saw a dear friend, who I had been told was out of state on sabbatical. The anointing had shone so potently on him, that he could not be anonymous in the presence of the Lord. I did not, however, announce his presence but upon the prompting of the Holy Spirit, allowed him his privacy. What directly followed that was the Lord showing me a spirit in the midst of the people who was blind, without sight. I saw in a vision a spirit-man literally blindfolded, and then as the blindfold fell off, I witnessed badly scarred, scaled eyes. I then, through the move of the Spirit, gave a word for the person who "had become SPIRITUALLY BLIND". The Holy Spirit continued to speak through me revealing the divine timing of this person's presence at the service; that they were not accidentally present, and the man of God's sermon was going to be the breakthrough Word which they needed in order to regain their spiritual sight once more. I remember this so distinctly, because as soon as the man of God took the pulpit, he called it to attention again and was pressed by the anointing to confirm it. As the Word came forth, it occurred, even to him, that the message's center of focus was speaking directly to those who were "spiritually blind".

The text from Judges shows us that even in the midst of the Angel of the Lord, or as theophany suggests, Jesus Himself, who declares while Gideon hides threshing wheat in the WINEPRESS (see the archived blog "The Winepress Giant") that he is a "mighty man of valor". He greets Gideon as a mighty warrior. But Gideon has, in spite of the knowlege of the miracles that God had done for Israel, become "spiritually blind". Instead of allowing the release and becoming the depth of the prophetic proclamation, he goes directly to the negative and in that perspective asks "WHY?". Have you ever greeted someone with an empowering word and immediately received a negative response? I most certainly have, There are people throughout my walk, who upon even the slightest positive greeting- "How are you?", will respond with- "I can't complain". While to them this may seem to be a good, and honest answer, it begs the retort "Would you be happier if you COULD complain?". You would be amazed at the amount of truly brilliant, strong and beautiful people in my life who use that response EVERY DAY. It is staggering. I do not cite this out of lambasting criticism, but rather out of recognition of the bounty of blessing that they miss on a daily basis, as a result of their choice to ignore the positive. I was a the grocery store and was greeted by a checker who I somehow seem to be divinely appointed to, and he asked how I was. I answered genuinely "Blessed. How are you?". He responded "I am choosing to have a positive day." I laughed and went on to expound on the merits and virtue of that answer and core belief. I did so until I realized that a long line of "Can't complainers" was developing behind me and starting to do what they longed to do secretly in their souls... complain.

With Gideon in this text, he behaves similarly to those who sink back into the negative in the midst of a possible positive conversion. He postures the behavior of a doubter, and his doubt literally removes the mantle of "mighty man of valor" from his cognizance. Instead of embracing the gift of fortification, the man who had been hiding threshing wheat in a winepress questions the Angel of the Lord with "WHY?" and "WHERE?". Many times in our walk with the Lord, when God looks to rename us, or empower us with a fresh anointing or purpose, we are susceptible to the way of the doubter. Instead of engaging the fresh mantle, anointing or assignment, we look behind us at let-downs or perhaps more often at our current surroundings, environments or circumstances and ask "WHY did this happen to me?" or "WHERE were YOU?". I can personally attest to the hopelessness of allowing my surroundings and current plight to define my outcome. But God does not consider the environment as a hindering factor. He is sovereign, and His sovereignty can make something out of nothing. God can make it snow upside-down on a blazing summer day where there has never been rain let alone snow. In the midst of one of the most trying and difficult times of our ministry's growth, I felt as though God had forgotten the promises He had made to me. I saw only the negative experiences in my life and held onto them as if they were, for better and mostly worse, what defined me. My mistakes, my poor choices and ignorance were what made me who I was. I was depressed and lost. Through the veil of a manufactured smile, I defined myself as a "fish in a forest" who could no longer find the path back to the waters. It was grim. But the God of the Breakthrough saw every second of my doubt and self-inflicted suffering. At a conference we were ministering at, a Pastor I did not know, who did not know me, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me:
"The Spirit of the Living God wants you to know that you are not the events that have happened in your life. You are not to define yourself through your mistakes any more. He is commanding you to see yourself not as the flesh would have you, but as the Spirit would. You are NOT what has happened. You are His. You are CHOSEN." It was amazing. I had received, once more, a direct and valuable Word from the Lord right on time. I immediately moved out of the hills of doubt and onto the mountaintop of sonship once more. I have been tempted from time to time to regress and crawl back into the fleshly comfort of vain self-deprication, but the Holy Spirit has kept me safe and sanctified. Prior to that moment, I too had become "spiritually blind".

It is a commonly used weapon of the adversary to blind the spiritual eyes of believers from the promises and deliverance of God. Satan is far more effective when God's earthly armies are distracted or disoriented. When we are pulled into our circumstances or what visibly seems impossible, there is the potential for a loss of VISION. One of the most disarming qualities of becoming "spiritually blind" is losing one's VISION. "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."-(Proverbs 29:18) In the "God's Word" translation it reads: "Without prophetic vision people run wild, but blessed are those who follow [God's] teachings." No vision means that the enemy can sneak in and destroy and kill dreams, ideals, beliefs, and the gifts of the spirit. A dear friend of ours, Dr. Myles Munroe teaches that "SIGHT is a function of the eyes, but VISION is a function of the heart." If the enemy can crush or "blind" us from our vision, than he can, in that action, break our hearts. It is not uncommon for people to perish or die from a broken heart. You may be breathing, you may be technically and physically alive, but if you are heart-broken, you are by no means truly living. But please do not misunderstand what I am attempting to communicate here. Satan, or his minions are not necessarily the responsible party for the death of dreams and vision in many people who become spiritually blind. Quite the contrary, I believe he uses the opportunities allotted by those who have by their own decision laid down their vision to infiltrate and hold their thoughts captive in that state. The enemy gets quite a bit of undeserved credit for what usually amounts to not "following God's teachings".

Without spiritual sight, there is no peace in our hearts. When we become "blinded" it is nearly impossible to see the King. If we become focused on the Midianites and the invaders or challenges of life, our minds and hearts are not on God. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."-(Isaiah 26:3) With our minds stayed upon the Lord, we can see when the Angel of the Lord comes to call upon us in our hiding places and addresses us as Mighty Man or Woman of Valor that there is no need for proofs or signs. The confirmation will be in the appearance of the Angel Himself. What is so wonderfully impressive about Gideon's situation is the revelation that although he was reclusively eluding the invaders in a winepress, God spoke into him the greatness that he would be need to defeat the Midianites in spite of his declaration of being "poor and the least of his father's house". You see, all it takes to regain our spiritual sight is a word or a touch from the Master. "And Jesus answered and said unto him, 'What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?' The blind man said unto him, 'Lord, that I might receive my sight'. And Jesus said unto him, 'Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole.' And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.."-(Mark 10:51-52) It takes a word from the Lord and FAITH. God WAS with Gideon, and he did smite the Midianites as one man. He truly became a mighty man of valor.

Perhaps you are fighting this same battle, unwittingly. Is it possible that you linger in the negative, or have set up camp where either your surroundings or those within your camp have placed "blinders" on you? Or far worse, is it possible that the environment you have unpacked in, and those you have joined party with are the very instruments of your loss of sight? Sometimes, we are completely unaware of our loss of spiritual receptivity or sensitivity because of a slow, steady decline into darkness. If you have fallen away from the glory or grace of God's presence and rather slid into the mirky clay and swamp of circumstance, we encourage you to rise up, you mighty man of valor! God is on your side! The scales of spiritual blindness MUST obey the KING OF KINGS command to be gone! We speak LIFE and a RESURRECTION of your dead or dying DREAMS and VISION!! There is a Dylan Thomas poem which reads "Do not go gentle into that good night- Rage, rage against the dying of the light!" When there is a shadow, do not lay down your vision, do not relinquish your sight. Rather, press on. Press on without ceasing. When the circumstances appear all but hopeful, press on. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."-(Psalm 23:4) Walk THROUGH, knowing that God and his Word are our comfort. Do not stay hidden in the winepress, eking out a living, existing in fear and loathsome remembrance of what could have been. Instead, heed the prophetic call to arms, listen to the Word of the Lord as He calls you to reclaim your purpose, regain your mantle, and take back your SIGHT.