What Are the Eyes of Your Heart Seeing?

This morning I was reading through Ephesians when one verse made me pause..

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened…" (Ephesians 1:18, NLT)

I couldn't move on.

What are the eyes of my heart? An Ephesians 1:18 Devotional on Hope

If Paul is praying that they would be enlightened, how does that happen? What does it mean for my life today? I stayed with those questions for a while because I didn't want to rush past a phrase that seemed too important to ignore.

As I thought about it, I realized Paul was talking about far more than physical sight. He was describing the way we perceive reality.

In Scripture, the heart is much more than our emotions. It's the center of who we are. It includes our mind, our will, our desires, our affections, and our understanding. It's the place from which our thoughts, choices, and actions flow.

If that's true, then the eyes of my heart are the way I see life.

My physical eyes see my circumstances.

The eyes of my heart see God's presence, His promises, and His purposes within those same circumstances.

My physical eyes may see delay. The eyes of my heart see hope.

My physical eyes may see weakness. The eyes of my heart see God's power at work.

My physical eyes may see only what is temporary. The eyes of my heart see what is eternal.

Two people can stand in the same circumstances and see completely different realities. One sees disappointment. The other recognizes God at work beneath the surface.

The circumstances are the same.

What they see is different.

I've watched this play out in my own life more times than I can count. The waiting season doesn't change just because I've decided to see it differently. What changes is the lens. And that lens is the eyes of the heart.

Paul continues his prayer by asking that believers would know the hope of God's calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance, and His incomparably great power toward those who believe. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is already at work in us.

The first thing Paul mentions is hope.

That caught my attention because hope changes the way we see everything else. Hebrews tells us that hope is an anchor for the soul. An anchor holds the ship steady while the storm moves through. It doesn't calm the wind or still the waves. It simply keeps the ship from drifting until the storm has passed.

Hope anchors our hearts in God's promises when our circumstances tempt us to believe something different.

I've often thought of hope as the roots from which joy grows. That's exactly what Paul says in Romans 15:13.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him…" (Romans 15:13)

Hope comes before joy.

When the eyes of my heart are enlightened, I begin to see hope where my physical eyes see only waiting. That hope anchors my soul, strengthens my faith, and becomes the roots from which joy grows.

Those truths have always been true.

An enlightened heart begins to recognize them.

As I continued thinking about this, other passages came to mind.

Hagar's eyes were opened to see the well that had been there all along.

Elisha prayed that his servant's eyes would be opened, and suddenly he saw the hills filled with the armies of heaven.

The disciples on the road to Emmaus walked beside Jesus Himself, mile after mile, before their eyes were finally opened and they recognized who had been walking with them all along.

Each of those stories has something in common.

God opened their eyes to a reality that had been there all along. The well didn't appear out of nowhere. The armies didn't arrive in that moment. Jesus didn't suddenly show up on the road. What changed wasn't the reality in front of them. What changed was their capacity to see it.

The word enlightened paints a beautiful picture. It carries the idea of being flooded with light. Imagine walking into a dark room and flipping on the light switch. The room was already there. The furniture had never moved. The light allowed you to see what had been hidden in the darkness.

I wonder if that's what Paul was praying for.

He wanted believers to see God's hope in the middle of waiting. To understand the inheritance they already possessed in Christ. To recognize God's power already at work in their lives. Seeing those truths changes the way we look at everything else. That leaves me with one question I can't seem to shake.

What has always been true that I haven't yet seen?

How often have I focused on what my physical eyes could see while missing what God was doing beneath the surface? How many wells have I walked past because I never asked God to open my eyes to them?

Maybe that's why Paul prayed for enlightened hearts. He knew that the reality we need most isn't the one we're waiting for. It's the one that's already here, waiting to be seen.

Prayer

Lord, today enlighten the eyes of my heart. Help me see Your hope where I only see waiting. Help me see the riches of my inheritance in You when I feel empty.

Help me see Your power where I feel weak. Open my eyes the way You opened Hagar's, to see the well that was there all along. Open them the way You opened Elisha's servant's, to see the armies surrounding me even when I feel alone. Open them the way You opened the eyes of the disciples on the road, to recognize You walking beside me in seasons when I thought I was walking alone.

Teach me to see my circumstances through the eyes of faith.

Amen.

If this encouraged you today, consider sharing it with a friend who could use a little hope.

Until next time, keep pursing hope and joy,

Famia