0210 你看见神的能力被蒙蔽了吗？
你们向上举目，看谁创造这万象，按数目领出，祂一一称其名；因祂的权能，又因祂的大能大力，连一个都不缺。《以赛亚书 40:26》
在以赛亚时代，神的子民因仰望偶像的脸，他们的心思被蒙蔽而无法看到神。但以赛亚让他们仰望天空；也就是说，他让他们开始运用自己的力量来正确思考和想象。如果我们是神的儿女，我们在大自然中拥有一份巨大的宝藏，并且会意识到它是神圣并是神的。只要我们开始用我们盲目失明的思维去视觉化，我们就会看到神在每一阵吹过的风中、每一次日出和日落、天空中的每一朵云、每一朵盛开的花朵，和每一片凋谢的叶子中向我们伸出手来。
灵性专注的真正考验是你能够控制你的心志和想法。你的心志是聚焦在偶像的脸上吗？偶像是你自己吗？是你的工作吗？是你对仆人应该是什么样子的看法？或是你对救赎和成圣的经历？如果是这样，那么你看到神的能力是被蒙蔽了。当面对困难时，你将无能为力，并被迫在黑暗中忍受。如果你的视力被蒙蔽了，不要回顾你自己的经历，而要仰望神。你需要的是神，超越你自己，并远离你偶像的脸，以及其他已经蒙蔽你思想的东西。苏醒吧，接受以赛亚对他的百姓的嘲笑，并刻意地将你的思想和目光转向神。
我们在祷告中感到徒劳的原因之一是我们失去了想象的能力，我们甚至无法想象将自己刻意地置于神面前。在代祷领域里，成为被擘开破碎饼和被倾倒浇奠的酒，其实比我们与他人的个人接触更重要。视觉化的力量是神赋予圣徒的，使他能够超越自己，并被坚固地置身于他从未经历过的关系中。
来自章伯斯的智慧
如果在我们里面所有败坏中只有一根信心的绳索，神也会抓住那一根。《不知往何处去》
0210 Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things… —Isaiah 40:26
The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.
The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.
One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
If there is only one strand of faith amongst all the corruption within us, God will take hold of that one strand. –Not Knowing Whither, 888 L