Lord, How do I open the eyes of my Heart?

Open the eyes of my heart

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

(Repeat two more times)

Holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Michael W. Smith

The Heart?

I shared a few weeks back that I am an engineer. I have a tendency to look at the world with a dispassionate analytic perspective. For many years this was a significant stumbling block in my faith life. Heck for most of my life as an engineer I had no faith life. Yet somewhere along the way Jesus showed up. He brought the Holy Spirit with him and started to minister to the emptiness that had taken residence in my soul. It was a very painfully empty God shaped hole within me.

I shared the story of that time a while back as well, that is not the point here just the context. You see I want to talk about the eyes of my heart. In 2002 I first discovered Michael W. Smith. A friend had recommended him to me as an excellent Christian artist that I might like. Like, I loved him! I could not get enough of listening to his music. In fact this was the start of a six year love affair with worship music that is not soon to end. Check out My Private Worship Time if you want perspective.

There were many songs at the time that I loved yet one stood out; Open the Eyes of my Heart.

Here is where the engineer and the Christian setup a cognitive dissonance (fancy term for two opposing ideas held in the mind that cannot be resolved). Essentially the meaning of this song was lost on me. How could I see with my heart?

Well….

That was then, this is now

In the past several weeks I have had a number of experiences that when considered from the right perspective offered me a glimpse into the meaning of this song. The perspective is that of heaven or the kingdom instead of a worldly one.

There was the time when in worship and prayer my heart ached so hard for the Lord that I wanted to cry. I prayed instead, on my knees, until the feeling passed.

There was the time my heart ached for the men I work with and a difficult decision they face. I cannot bear the thought of them hurting. I prayed for them until the ache stopped.

There was the time at a worship service I closed my eyes and took in the scene. I believe the lord was clearly showing me how to see with my heart in his realm. It was so peaceful so wonderful. I was content to be in his presence and I know that had I quieted my mind even further I would have seen his angels ministering to his people.

This morning as I listened to my daily audio bible segment, courtesy of Brian Hardin, my heart leapt as the word from Leviticus started. All at once I felt present with Brian half way around the world in India connected through a supernatural link.

Close my eyes and see?

So now I know that there are times that I can close my eyes and see as he does. I can trust my heart instead of my eyes. I can trust in him and see his people with love.

I am further honored that though this gift from the Lord is momentary and seemingly random that all the prayers I have pleaded all the times I have asked for a new heart are being answered He is constructing a new heart in me, a renewed spirit. He is teaching me to love without condition to care without boundary.

I am a blessed man

In him

Ron

The Trip Part II

This post was a mysterious journey for me. I started out with the idea of explaining why Jeremiah 29:13 was so meaningful to me and found myself having a brief but intense discussion with our heavenly father. The discussion and this post ended when someone seated next to me reached out to say hello. Little did I know that he was lost and in need of my help. Anyway here is the post as it was. This was an intense and powerful few moments that humbled me. In The Trip IV I will share a bit about the gentleman who reached out to me and in some future post the rest of the Jeremiah 29:13 story.

May God bless and keep you, may his face shine upon you.

Here is the post.

Jeremiah 29:13

In 2002 I had the pleasure of being a part of my first ever bible study. In this critical time in my walk I had the honor of having Fred, Chris, Raynor and Nick speak into my life in a profound way. Each of these men became a mentor of sorts as we dove into the books of the bible together. By far the most memorable book was Jeremiah. Most people may consider Jeremiah to be a dark and pessimistic book. I found it to be the most poignant revelation of the heart of God in the bible. Throughout the book you could feel the massive disappointment the Lord felt toward his chosen people. A people he had nurtured for over a thousand years. A father who became... [[At this point I was at a loss for words and prayed to God to help me finish the story, give me the right word Father, Allow me to honor you with these words. I got a different response.]] As I write this I feel the power of God saying Stop! What you want to write is no longer true. You cannot say I have lost my connection. Do not talk about the past. Instead LISTEN to the song on your IPOD

Michael W Smith sings…

Help me find the way to bring me back to you

You are all I want you are all I ever needed

Help me know you are near

Father I am humbled as I sit and try with all my heart to honor you by writing about your scriptures your holy verse you speak to me a story of hope of victory through your son Jesus Christ.

I am stunned by this revelation; our heavenly father has not spoken to me this clearly before. Just then the song on my Ipod ends and another randomly begins. (Note I often set my Ipod to shuffle and listen to songs at random it can be a fun game to see where it will go next) The next song is by Kutless, the song “Saved” I hear…

I tell you now its the only way 

To be set free from all your pain 

You must accept these words I say 

I need your focus just this day 

Let me reveal to you a friend 

He’ll give you purpose and eternal life 

He is the Christ and to Him I say 

I am speechless.

Praise be to you almighty father

Amen