I put this pair on and I can see the past but the future seems out of focus. The eye chart that covers the past twenty years seems to be only made up of the large E at the top so I can see it perfectly. The eye chart of the future seems to only contain the name of its manufacturer which is written in the smallest font possible at the bottom of the card.

I just looked over my shoulder.

Specific details may not be completely clear but for the most part I can see everything. The twists and turns, the bumps and steep inclines, they are all there. If I allow my 20/20 hindsight to work to its full potential not only can I see the journey but I can also see my travel companion walking alongside. I never took a step alone, I never took a break without him.

There were times I remember looking around for him, times when the terrain was steep or the bumps were too big to step over. Most of the time I couldn’t see him right there, right then but now that I look back I see the bigger picture. Sometimes he was pushing the obstacle out of the way while other times he was holding the rope so I could climb over it. There were other times he was guarding the cliff’s edge on a tight turn or giving me a push from behind so I could make it up a steep incline.

I am now looking forward because you can’t always look back.

I don’t know the specific details, you can’t see what hasn’t happened. As a matter of fact most of it is a blur. All I can make out is what appears to be a sharp turn on a steep incline covered with bumps but it’s all out of focus. As I prepare to take each step I look for my travel companion but I can’t see him. Even when it is break time I feel like I am resting alone.

There are times when I look around for him but I can’t see him. No matter what I have seen looking back, my eyes still tell me that in the blur of the future he is not there. The obstacles are still there and there’s no way to move them or climb over them. There is a cliff on both sides of the sharp turn and there is no one there to stop me from falling.

I could be wrong. Maybe there are no bumps or curves or maybe they are not as dangerous or impassible as I think. I can’t really tell because I can’t really see, it’s all blurry. I need new glasses.

I don’t need just any glasses, I need spiritual glasses.

I won’t be able to see the future any better. The blur of bumps, curves, hills and obstacles will still be what I see. My hindsight will remain the only clear field of vision I have. I will look around me, I will look in front of me, and all I will see is a blur of the unknown. My spiritual glasses can’t fix my eyesight but they can fix my perspective.

My spiritual glasses allow me to apply the unchangeable nature of God’s faithfulness combined with historical evidence of His promises being fulfilled in my life to the uncertainty of my blurry future. One day I will look back on today with my 20/20 vision and see He was there pushing the obstacle out of the way, holding the rope so I could climb over it, guarding the cliff’s edge on a tight turn or giving me a push from behind so I could make it up a steep incline. But for now all I can do is put on my spiritual glasses and look at the blur knowing He has and He will see me through.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)

My problem is I more often than not look at the blurry future and refuse to put on my spiritual glasses. New glasses fix nothing if you don’t wear them.