Any of you who have been following these posts over the past few years already knows that my vision has never, ever been in the category of “good”… But for those of you who are new to these posts, let me give you the short version of my vision story:

I was born with a lazy eye. Unfortunately this was not diagnosed until I was too old for it to be corrected. As a result, I have gone through life being “legally-blind” in my right eye.

My left eye, although my better eye, was also never good. I have been severely myopic all of my life, necessitating that I wear “coke-bottles” in the frames that were otherwise known as “glasses”. This resulted in me having to repeat grade 1, it was the reason behind the significant teasing I took at school, and because my parents were very protective of me and my glasses, it was deemed “unsafe” for me to play sports, ride horses, climb mountains, or to do much of the things that little boys like to do.

As time went on, my vision didn’t improve. When my children were young, I became “night blind” and couldn’t drive at night. God intervened here, restoring my night vision. Praise His holy name

I then developed a significant floater over my right eye. It didn’t matter that the eye was already “legally blind”. That floater drove me crazy. Literally. To the point that I wore a patch for a number of months. It eventually “floated” off my field of vision, praise God.

I was then diagnosed with glaucoma in my left eye… Come on! What else could possibly go wrong??? Those drops really sting, and I hated them!

What else could go wrong, you ask? I had no idea that there was even an answer to that question … I would learn that not only was there an answer, but that I would experience that answer…

One of the later effects of my dementia diagnosis has been the loss of my visual field… Now suddenly, where I used to have 180 degree peripheral vision, my visual field gradually reduced to … a 10 percent spot slightly to the right of center. Not too high, however, and certainly not too low!

Suddenly eating became a real challenge. I simply couldn’t see most of the food on my plate! Couple this with the dementia that made me forget to check…. Instead, I was constantly asking myself why my wife only gave me those tiny amounts of food, and why she regularly turned my plate. And how was it that I would finish the tiny amount on my plate, and then, suddenly, it would reappear?

This has affected all areas of my life. Memory problems dictate that I lose things regularly. Now I lose things that I still have on my body, sometimes even in my hand! I simply can’t “see” it, and if I can’t “see” it, then it must be “missing”!

It does make me think! It makes me think about people who don’t know God!

I mean, God is so good. How is it that people don’t see this and flock to Him?

The Bible tells us it is because of “spiritual blindness” brought on by the enemy: “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4 NIV)

Add to this the fact that our sin continually draws us farther and father from God: “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God…” (Isaiah 59:1-2a NIV). It’s a lose/lose situation! The more we sin, the less we can hear God’s voice calling us to Him!

There is only one thing that can cure my visual problems, and that is God’s miraculous touch, which He has already promised. The cure for spiritual blindness is the same: A touch from God! Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” (John 9:39 NIV). “Then Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’” (John 8:12 NIV)

There is only one thing we can do for the spiritually blind; and that is to pray that their eyes will be opened to see the Light of Truth!

You may not know many physically blind people; but if you do, I urge you to never stop praying for their sight. But you will meet many, many people who are spiritually blind. Pray without ceasing that God will open their eyes so that they will see the light and be saved!

Inspired by Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries