Have you ever noticed how easily some things go unnoticed? All too often we grow comfortable with what we know and what we see. Before long, we are blinded to things that are amazingly visible to others. Without an awakening or some intervention that causes us to look afresh at our lives and our environment we remain unaware.

In one way, this is a gift. If we tried to focus on everything, all the time, we would soon become overwhelmed with details and ultimately unable to find any focus at all. However it is also a challenge and a potential problem.

In a former church we experienced this first-hand. Over the years, deterioration of the roof opened a way for water to leak in where it was not wanted. That water traveled into the Sanctuary walls and began to stain and destroy the plaster. There were numerous signs of the damage, yet few noticed – few of the members noticed that is. Our visitors and guests saw it clearly, but for the rest of us, we became acclimated to the way things were and lost sight of what was quite literally, right under our nose. The stunning revelation came when the Trustees showed us all pictures of the damage and most of us did not know where they were taken. It was quite a shock when we discovered they were taken only feet away from where we were sitting.

We, all of us, need fresh eyes to look at our lives. We need God to shine light on our lives to show us our weak places, our growing edges, and the opportunities that are at our doorstep. David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me into the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) He knew that he needed God to reveal the deeper parts of his life, so that he could see what was right under his nose, and then do something about it.

God wants to help us get a real look at where we are. It is God’s greatest desire to see us become all that we should be, to help us “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,” so that we can run the race set before us. It is God’s heart, not to remind us of our faults, but to expose our weaknesses so that we can allow God to heal them.

As with the water damaged walls of that Sanctuary, we need to open our eyes to what is before us and then take action to repair damage and restore beauty. We need to let God reveal areas of need, and then take action to strengthen our lives and our ministries.

This is a great time to allow God to help in your re-creation. Would you be willing to pray the prayer David prayed? Will you ask God to shine on your life and on our life together, so that we can hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church in our day? Will you use this time to grow deeper in your relationship with God and in your ministry to others?

I believe… rather, I know that God has some awesome things He wants to do in and through us. May God bless you as you make yourself available to Him.