Let God Open Your Eyes

You don't have to find the light — He brings it to you.

You Can't See What You Can't See

Here's the thing about darkness. When you're in it, you don't know you're in it. You can't see your own condition. You stumble around and think that's just how life works.

Nobody in a pitch-black room says, "Look how dark it is in here." They can't. They need someone to turn on the light.

That's exactly where every one of us started.

Dead — and Didn't Know It

Paul doesn't soften it. In Ephesians 2:1–3, he tells us what our condition looked like before Christ:

"And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience."

Dead. Not struggling. Not just a little lost. Dead — spiritually cut off from the life that is in God. And not just dead, but under the control of a spiritual power Paul calls "the prince of the power of the air."

Our disobedience to God automatically exposed us to the influence and domination of Satan. We didn't have to sign up for it. It was the default.

And Paul makes it clear — this wasn't just some people. This was all of us:

"...among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest."

Every one of us. Held captive by the desires of our flesh and mind. In the dark. In bondage. And completely unable to see it.

The Light That Changes Everything

So how do you help someone who doesn't know they're blind? You open their eyes.

That's exactly what God does through the gospel. In Acts 26:18, Paul recalls the commission Jesus gave him — the assignment that defined his entire life:

"...to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me."

Look at the sequence. First, eyes opened. Then, a turning — from darkness to light, from Satan's dominion to God. Then, forgiveness. Then, inheritance. It starts with seeing. Everything else follows.

From Darkness to Inheritance

Colossians 1:12–14 tells us that once we receive forgiveness through Jesus Christ, Satan has no more legal claim over us. None. We are set free from his domain and made capable of entering into our eternal inheritance.

But it all begins with letting God open your eyes to your true condition — without Him. When you see that, you don't walk toward the light.

You run.

Prayer Response

Dear Lord Jesus, please open my eyes to really see my true condition without You, so I'll run quickly toward the light You've given me in the gospel. Thank You that You have saved me out of darkness. Help me to always walk in obedience, so Your light may shine brighter and brighter in this world that so needs You. In Jesus' name, amen

Pastor Dick's Devotionals