The fog is gone—dissipated, but the season of my awareness of God’s tender mercy remains. Firsthand, I learned the difference between my disoriented confusion, the enemy’s smoke, and God’s fine mist of fog. One incites panic and fear, one insecurity and doubt, and the last peace and security. The truths and insight I learned in the fog are invaluable.
Let me recover my sight is my continued prayer.
And I learned from the log—the forgiveness I received cleansed out the infection of criticism, the bitter root eradicated. However, slivers and debris remain, so I ask God for his salve to heal and anoint my sight. I ask for his continued healing that I might minister to the wounded, the fallen, and the broken. I ask the Spirit to remind me constantly of the ministry to which I’ve been called since becoming a Christ-follower.
And what is this calling?
The ministry of mercy. The ministry of healing. The ministry of reconciliation. The ministry of peace.
Friends, don’t forget your calling. Don’t be rendered immobile by the strategic smoke of the enemy. Don’t allow bitter roots to grow. Don’t get tangled up in cloaks. Don’t pay any mind to unsolicited opinions. Don’t be arrogant or deceived and think that only your way is the right one.
I pray for everyone to have someone in their lives who will speak with gentleness and kindness and call you out. My husband and a handful of friends did this for me. Indeed, I didn’t receive it well at times and pushed back more than once with justifications and explanations—some were (are) even valid, but not in the right spirit.
Listen, we are all blind beggars on the side of the road. We all lose our sight at times due to the fog shrouding, smoke enveloping, or a log impeding our vision.
It’s what we do when Jesus asks us the Bartimaeus question that matters.
What do you want me to do for you?
Take a deep breath and answer him today.