Putting On My Spiritual Specs – Psalms 66:1-5

“Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth! Sing out the honor of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, how awesome are Your works! Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You. All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; They shall sing praises to Your name. Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.” Psalms 66:1-5 (NKJV)

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Those of you who have to wear glasses will no doubt relate to this story. If anything, it might just provide a little chuckle.

What are glasses? Glasses are that necessary aid to enhance our vision. Glasses enable us to see the world more clearly (literally!) Glasses help bring clarity and correctness to the things we look at every day. Glasses help us read a good book, watch a sunset in vivid color, enable us to see where we are going when driving. Glasses are those things you often look for, only to find them on the top of your head. Glasses are an option for some, while an absolute necessity for others. Glasses are the thing that some of us just cannot live without!

I, personally, have worn glasses from the time I was a young girl. My mother tells the story that she finally realized that I needed glasses when I kept running into the walls at home. I remember those days! And the bumps and bruises that went along with those wall encounters. Not fun! I also remember the very first time I went to the eye doctor, with mom assuring me that it wasn’t going to hurt, not one bit. For some weird reason, the eye chart fascinated me. I asked the doctor after he finished having me read the line that I could see the clearest, “What line did I read? Point me to it.” Bless his heart, he humored me and pointed to the exact line that I had read out loud to him. Not bad. Then I said, rather bravely of me, I thought, “When do I get to go to the top of the chart?” Well, hey, before you start laughing at me, you have to give credit to a kid that wanted to “move up in the world.” Right? That doctor looked at me with the strangest look on his face. I didn’t understand. (Hey, I was a kid!) Then he looked at my mom and for some reason they were both laughing. Hmm, did they know something that I did not? Then he looked back at me and with a smile on his face, he said, “My dear little girl, this is one chart that you don’t want to climb. At least not any time soon!”

NOW! Now, I understand what that doctor meant! Please sir, can I go back down to the bottom of the chart? Please?

Nowadays I am totally lost without my glasses. They are – and have been for years – a permanent fixture to my face. I don’t ever leave home without them. Hey, I don’t even roam around in my home without them. Guaranteed to hit that wall again. They are the first thing I put on in the morning and the last thing I remove at night. And nobody better touch my glasses while I sleep.

Recently I had an experience with my glasses that, well – – – use your imagination here! You will get it!

It was the wee hours of the morning. I woke up with a start. Not sure if I heard something, had a nightmare, or it was just one of those sleepless nights. But I was awake. Laid there in the darkness for what seemed to be ages. It was DARK in that room! Normally, I like that but not on this night. Kind of had a creepy feel to it, not sure why. It was clear that sleep was done. As I laid there, my brain switched on like a light bulb. Bright, bold and beautiful. I love my mind but not at 3 o’clock in the morning. I decided to get up. Rolled over and reached for……!

What?

Where?

Panic hit my heart. I know because it started pounding in my chest pretty hard! Trying my best not to fall out of the bed. And being ever so careful not to waken the hubby lying next to me. I especially didn’t want to wake up the dog, lying in his own bed on the floor next to my bed. If Max heard me, that was it. I would have to get up for sure. But……wait! I can’t find…….my glasses!!!

Who took my glasses? Where are they? My hand is flying all over that nightstand. They were just here. This is where I left them. But, for some strange reason, they ain’t there now. And then, I heard the whimper. Yep! Max is awake. Goodnight nighttime! Good very early morning Max!

Before I knew it, I am on the floor. Please, don’t let me step on my glasses; that would be all I needed. I’m down on the floor, hands and knees knocking everywhere, trying my best to feel my way around. Of course, Max is thinking its playtime and quite happily offered to help with the search. Where, oh where, are my glasses? Don’t panic! You will find them. Oh, good, hubby is still snoring! Long may that continue as I don’t want to wake him up. I still cannot find my glasses!! No Max, I am NOT playing! Not now! It’s a horrible feeling when you have to get up in the middle of the night and you can not find your glasses!

Max and I finally gave up the search. Both exhausted from the search, we laid down on the rug on the floor and went to sleep. Hubby never knew!

And in the morning, when the alarm went off. I reached up onto the nightstand by my bed. Low and behold, I found my glasses! Right there! Right where I left them!

All day long, I chuckled to myself over that story as it played out in my mind. How crazy! With a little light and a good pair of glasses, it’s amazing what you can see! What was lost, is now found!

I realized that day something spiritual about glasses. Yes, there really is a spiritual lesson here.

God gave to mankind the ability to read written words. And He provided us with His written word, the Bible. Many of us own a copy of the Bible. Some might even have multiple copies, and different versions of the Bible. That Bible will do us no good at all if we just leave it on a bookshelf, or a table somewhere in our house. In order to know what it says, we should open it and read it. Within its pages we will learn more about God, about heaven, about God’s Son, Jesus, and so much more.

Once we open that Bible to read, many of us will reach for our glasses. Why? Well, for the simple reason that we want to be able to see what it is we are reading. We want to see the written word more clearly.

And yet, when it comes to reading the Word, we tend to be blind. Can’t see it well. It’s a little blurry and we lack perception. Everything seems to run together into a big blur. The understanding of what we are looking at is just not there. We are blind without some help in our seeing.

In a sense, we need to put on our “spiritual glasses” to be able to see and understand the good things that God wants us to read and to know from within the pages of His Word. So, the next time you sit down to read the Bible, God’s Word to you, put on your “spiritual glasses” – your SPECS if you will. And as you read, ask yourself these questions.

• S – Is there a particular Sin mentioned that I should avoid?
• P – is there a Promise that I can claim as God’s special promise just for me?
• E – is there someone’s good Example that I can learn from and follow?
• C – is there a Command from God to obey? Something that God expects me to do or be?
• S – is there anything Special that I should know about God or His Son, Jesus?

Try it the next time you read the Bible. Put on your spiritual specs. Ask some questions. It’s guaranteed to open the eyes of your understanding. And it will help you see things just a little more clearly.

With the right pair of glasses, you will be able to see, like the Psalmist, “the works of God” so clearly. You will, with the Psalmist, be able to sing and shout out in honor of His name, “How awesome are Your works!”

With the right pair of glasses, you will see “He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.”

Now, where did I put those glasses?