This morning as I was wrestling with whether I was actually ready to get out of bed, my eyes kept looking at a projection on the wall I was facing. There was just enough light from the moon outside that it would shine through the trees and paint a framed silhouette on the wall. Then, when the wind would pick up, not only could I hear the leaves rustling in the trees outside our room, but I could see them dance as well. It was cool.

As I lay there, I was wondering what God was sharing with me. I thought of this and that. Of people to pray for. But I still wasn’t sure those were the reasons for what I was seeing on the wall this morning. So, finally I realized I just was not going to go back to sleep and I got up and started my morning routine. Not that the time in prayer was bad, but I was losing focus as I began thinking of things I needed to accomplish in the hours to come.

At my computer, I read this as part of my morning devotional routine:

“It is no advantage to be near the light if the eyes are closed.”
–Augustine

What? How amazing! It made me realize that if I had not lain in bed this morning, captivated by the “show” on the wall in my room, in most likelihood I may not have spent time in prayer this morning. Or at least I may not have prayed for what I did. And certainly not at the time I did. I May not have spent time in wonder, trying to listen for His desire. I would have been near the light, but my eyes would have remained closed.

What good is it for me to walk through my days and nights, knowing God is near me, but not taking the time to open my eyes and look?

Now, if you were me, you would be asking yourself if the act of looking is “voluntary” or “involuntary”? It’s just the way my mind thinks and desires to learn. I would be curious to know what percentage of our day is spent with our eyes open? When they are open, they look. That is simply what they do, what they are designed for. So I would think that looking would be an involuntary action. However, the act of interpreting those visions would be voluntary. Right?

God gave us lots of things to look at. But each of us must make a decision on what we do with what we see. God is dancing and singing and revealing Himself to me and to you constantly, but I/we have to CHOOSE to see Himself revealed. It’s like those puzzles where you have to find the hidden objects in the photo. They are there, and your eye sees them over and over again as you search. But it is not until you focus your thought that the objects are revealed. Hopefully.

May your eyes and mine be open today to God’s glory revealed. He is there. He is not hiding.