Developing spiritual vision is something we must learn to do if we are to grow spiritually. The Bible is full of stories of people who had encounters with God: visions of God that forever changed their lives. We think of Isaiah, in the temple: ‘I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple’ (Is 6:1), a vision of the holiness of God which caused him to dedicate his whole life to serving God. (Is 6:8) We think of Ezekiel’s vision of God: ‘an immense cloud with flashing lightning and surrounded by brilliant light’ (Ezek 1:4) which was the inspiration for a lifetime of creative, radical prophecy. We think of Daniel’s vision of ‘a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.’ (Dan 10:5-6) We think of Peter’s experience on the Mount of Transfiguration which he later described as being ‘eyewitnesses of His majesty.’ (2 Pet 1:16) We think of Paul’s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus when a dazzling light left him blinded but which gave him the courage and calling to be an apostle to the Gentiles. (Acts 9: 3-9) We think of John’s vision of the resurrected Jesus on the island of Patmos: ‘someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.’ (Rev 1:13), a vision which led to the book of Revelation. All of these encounters with God show us how spiritual visions can transform and shape our lives.
Whilst we cannot ‘make’ God appear to us in this way, the principles we use to teach children road safety have much to guide us in the art of preparing to encounter God.
STOP
We need to take time out of our busyness to stop and seek God. The context of that transfiguration which so affected Peter, James and John is prayer: Jesus took them up the mountain to pray. (Luke 9:28-29) When we pray, we actively stop our doing and enter into conversation with God. It’s in that place of communion and conversation that our spiritual eyesight is opened. As we draw near to God, He draws near to us. (James 4:8) Prayer must be both private and corporate. We need to stop and pray.
LOOK
A couple in love gaze adoringly at each other and never tire of telling the other of the beauty they see (‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’). Parents gaze in wonder at a newborn, counting the fingers and toes over and over again. We need to be prepared to gaze on the beauty of the Lord, to linger, to worship, to adore. The world says this is a waste of time, but we will never be ignited with passion for the Lord if we have not learned the secret of beholding…
LISTEN
We teach our children to listen for traffic as well as to look for it, and so in our relationship with God, we seek not only to see Him in all His glory, but to hear His voice, that voice of the Good Shepherd which will lead and guide us. (John 10:4) Listening is best done in silence; hence the need for quietness in our lives. ) When Peter, James and John are on the Mount of Transfiguration, they heard a voice from the cloud, God speaking to them, saying ‘This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.’ (Luke 9:35) Vision and hearing go hand in hand, it seems, and as we ‘see’ God, we also hear His voice, giving us new purpose and direction.
Practise the STOP – LOOK – LISTEN steps and seek to encounter God wherever you are.