I have never had much trouble with my eyes. Actually, I had never been to the eye doctor much until in recent years when constant work on the computer led me to need glasses for reading. Even after receiving a pair of reading glasses, I skipped a year before I went for an annual checkup three weeks ago.

At this year’s annual appointment, I was excited to avoid having my eyes dilated when the optometric assistant took pictures of my eyes for the doctor to examine. I must say the pictures were very cool! After all the testing, my eyes were declared healthy. I was given an adjustment to my prescription to help make my sight crystal clear. I was done with an eye exam for another year, or maybe two!

Now three weeks later, I have been experiencing trouble with my right eye, so I was back visiting my optometrist. Flashes of light, floaters, blurriness, and some pain naturally led to my eyes being dilated for the examination. Thankfully, I am experiencing nothing too serious, and in time, my eye should be back to normal. In just a few short days, the little difficulties with my right eye have left me distracted at times, and I have longed for clearer vision to return.

Our eyes give us warning signs when something is not right. Through blurred vision, spots of darkness, flashes of light or floaters, we know something is not normal. When looking through the eyes of our heart, warning signs are not always clearly seen, because our hearts can deceive us as Jeremiah reminds us in Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Scripture has much to say about our eyes and their connection to our heart.

“All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit.” (Proverbs 16:2)

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2)

“Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” (Isaiah 5:21 NIV)

“For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:15)

Seeing our actions and behaviors through our own eyes, instead of the eyes of our Father, we see no wrong. Looking only through our own lens, we miss what God and others see, and our hearts grow dull. When our eyes are not focused on God, we stop thinking His thoughts and following His ways. We believe what we are seeing in the way we live is right.

However, God sees our heart. To correct the vision of our heart, He makes us aware of the problems. God uses heartache, sickness, job loss, relationship difficulties and other hardships to draw our focus back to Him.

When our hearts are not right, we long for clearer vision from God. Through His Word and the work of the Holy Spirit, God helps us to see our hearts as He does. As God’s truth penetrates our heart, we become aware of the deceitfulness lurking there. We are reminded to fix our eyes of Jesus.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1-2b NIV)

Spending time in prayer and allowing the truth of God’s Word to change our heart, He clears the blurriness, the floaters and flashes of light, until we see ourselves through God’s eyes.

Are you longing for clearer vision? In what ways has your sight been blurred so you are not aware of the true view of your heart? Ask the Lord to help you see your heart as He sees it. As the truth of God’s Word penetrates your heart and your eyes are fixed on Jesus, your vision will be clear. Living your life guided by God’s vision will open the eyes of others to see Him.