Vision helps us to find our way forward – giving us direction and keeping us from wandering aimlessly through life. But our demand for perfect clarity can also keep us stuck. Often we must simply walk by faith and not by sight. And while perhaps disorienting in the moment, this blindness might be a blessing in disguise.
On the one hand, it’s only natural to pray for clarity in discerning the direction of our life and relationships. And we should pray for such clarity, as this helps us to keep our eyes focused on God and not merely on our own efforts and desires. At the same time, God in his infinite wisdom doesn’t always give us the clarity we desire. And this is for our benefit.
It would be all too tempting to do life without God if we were given turn-by-turn directions for every major decision. Remaining blind causes us to deepen our trust in God – following his lead when we cannot see ourselves.
And this also makes us less likely to trust in our own understanding. We have an idea of how things should go, which makes us prone to arrange life according to our terms. But blindness blocks our attempts and once again brings us back to trusting God’s wisdom for our life.
Likewise, it’s groping through the darkness that we also grow. Because our path is not perfectly clear, we find ourselves asking questions and exploring many avenues we would’ve missed otherwise. Looking back, this is not a path we would’ve freely chosen for ourselves, but it was exactly what we needed, and our blindness gave us this gift.
Of course, in the moment, it still doesn’t feel good to be blind. But maturing in faith reminds us God is at work even here.
In the end, continue to pray for clarity and receive it with gratitude. And remember also that your blindness is often a blessing – cultivating your faith when your own limited vision can otherwise get in the way.
Photo by Alan Cabello on Pexels
