Eyes to See // Micah

Before he was an apostle, Paul pursued his own way and blindly chased a deity of his own making. Consumed with zeal, yet deprived of sight, he eventually found himself rooted on a path, standing sword drawn, directly opposed to the real God. How does that happen?

While you and I hopefully will never literally square off with Christ, we can find ourselves so consumed with our vision for life that His way is lost on our path. Indeed the father of darkness would have all men rummage through life sightless.

It was not until Paul fully yielded to the light of Christ that the blinders fell off. It was then that a clear line of sight emerged from the fog of self will.

Like Paul, we gain real perspective by submitting our hopes, dreams and desires to Jesus. If we want God’s vision to guide our walk we must release our need to "have it our way" and ask the Light of the World for Eyes To See.

Acts 9:5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!”

Acts 9:9 “He remained there blind for three days and did not eat or drink.”

Acts 9:12 “I HAVE SHOWN HIM A VISION of a man named Ananias coming in and laying hands on him SO HE CAN SEE again.”

Acts 9:22 “Saul's preaching became more and more powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn't refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the Messiah.”

- Micah McElveen

Light Break Through // Micah

Night time was the worst. Laying awake in ICU, I vividly remember desiring death. I could not feel my toes yet my body was consumed by intense pain. I could not still my mind as it chased the fears of permanent paralysis. A dark fog brought on by chronic pain, the rigors of 6 hrs a day rehab, and lost dreams descended over my view to the point I lost sight of light all together. As a bleak outlook filled my heart, my soul, waxed thin like butter sparingly spread over brittle bread. In the belly of that valley I was so pressed down that it seemed there was no ability or reason to get up. On October 9th, 1996 I broke more than my neck, my spirit all but shattered and hopes hues faded.

Hope is a powerful force and when the light of its rays fade from sight we lose a substance core to life itself. It is in those times more than ever we desperately need to awaken to the truth, that even when grossly obscured, light will never be overcome by darkness. We need to believe that even if we can barely find a ray, it is there. And if kindled, the flicker will become a flame that will drive the darkness away.

More and more these days we are told the tale that darkness is superior, inevitably pervasive, and that indeed in the end it will prevail. But the Creator Of Light, the true light of the World Himself promises that light will remain and will ultimately overcome every shadow of darkness. When faced with darkness we are not called to manufacture light but instead to uncover it. Upon finding the light we are invited to run to it, to walk in it and expose others to its radiance.

If you told me then, what I know now, that one day I would look back and say, “I am thankful for that fateful day and the valleys that chased it,” I would have called you crazy. But I, for one, can testify to the power of a Light Break Through.

Psalm 18:28 “You light a lamp for me. The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.”

Psalm 36:9 “For you [Lord] are the fountain of life, the light by which we see.”

John 1:4-5 “The Word [Jesus] gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it."

- Micah McElveen