24 Apr Spiritual Glasses
First, let me begin by saying that faith is absolutely necessary for living—not just now in a time of a global pandemic, but always. We live in a world where people regularly experience death, illness, hunger, heartache, hate, and fear. “Going back to normal” at the end of this pandemic is still going back to a broken world.
Some of you may not know me or what I do professionally. I work at a legal organization that provides free legal services to those with limited resources. Every single one of our clients suffers from poverty and a life of trauma associated with that poverty. Within my organization, I manage a team of attorneys who represent victims of crime—most often survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. In addition to being poor and experiencing violence, our clients are often from marginalized populations including, among others, immigrants, persons of color, foster youth, those with mental health challenges, and those that identify as LGBTQ+. Working in this space can be soul-crushing, depressing, and infuriating as you see the many ways a person can be victimized and how often our justice system fails them.
There are days, more than I’d care to admit, when I lose my bearings and lose hope. You too may have some of these days. Since we live in a broken world, we all fight battles. Yours will look different than mine, but what is common to us all is the feeling of despair which threatens to engulf us.
Thankfully, God is gracious, and He reminds us that there is a greater kingdom, a greater reality, and an ultimate victory that awaits us.
I’d like to share three practices which help stir up my faith to fight and not give in to despair.
1. Put on spiritual glasses to see well.
Faith doesn’t require that we reject our current reality or present circumstances; it does, however, require we view these within the context of God’s greater reality.
One of the best definitions of faith I’ve heard is that faith is understanding God’s system—understanding how God works and how His kingdom operates. In other words, faith is being able to “see” the unseen.
God is writing a narrative that spans all of history and culminates with His kingdom coming to earth. He sees everything from a position of victory, of triumph, and of power. He sees everything in light of eternity, meaning He values those eternal traits which will remain even after all the temporal, earthly tangibles are gone. He values character and works of love, justice, mercy, kindness, and peace.
I wear glasses (and contacts), and without these corrective lenses, I see everything out of focus and blurry. My glasses put things into focus and bring clarity. In the same manner, I need spiritual glasses to see the way God sees. With my spiritual glasses, I can look at my present circumstances and reorient myself. When I see through my spiritual glasses, I can then see the value in what I do whether it’s in the home as a parent, in my relationships with friends and neighbors, or in the marketplace at my job. With my spiritual glasses, I can see where God is working, fighting the battle for me.
2. Use your spiritual glasses to look back.
God has given all of us amazing promises found in Scripture. He may have also given you specific promises about your life. Sometimes it seems like those promises may never come to pass, especially right now.
But God’s promises never fail. He always keeps His word. In Romans 4:18-21, Paul describes Abraham’s faith—“In hope against hope he believed… without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform.”
Growth is normally a slow process and can often go overlooked. As a result, I need my spiritual glasses to look back at my past and see where God was faithful, to see where He “made good” on His promises. I look back and see where God kept His promise to comfort me in my mourning. I look back and see where God healed my broken heart. I look back and see where God gave me joy for mourning. These promises fulfilled build my faith and give me hope that God will do it again.
3. Use your spiritual glasses to look ahead.
A work colleague once told me that our fight for justice is a more like a marathon, not a sprint. This is sound biblical advice too, because the writer of Hebrews in Chapter 12 exhorts us to run with endurance the race set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. He even tells us to remember all Jesus endured so we won’t grow weary and lose heart.
Jesus endured the cross because He saw the joy set before Him—He saw a beautiful and glorious Church that overcomes. Seeing what was to come fueled His purpose. He knew why He was suffering, and He knew it was worth it all.
Similarly, I need my spiritual glasses to look ahead to the future. Since God made promises about our future, we can catch a glimpse at the future God sees.
Though the world will still be broken when the pandemic ends, Jesus promised He wouldn’t leave us or forsake us, so we know we have victory. God’s kingdom will keep advancing, and both you and I get to be a part of that kingdom work. One day there will be no more death, no more suffering, and no more mourning. That promise fuels my faith; that hope, which I know is sure, is what keeps me going.
I hope you are encouraged by these truths and that your faith in Jesus will only be made stronger as we walk through this together. I hope you join me in putting on our spiritual glasses, looking at our present circumstances the way God does, looking back at promises fulfilled, and looking ahead to our future glory in God.
In love,
Carla Sanchez-Adams
1. I often imagine my spiritual glasses look something like the glasses (Spectrespecs) Luna Lovegood uses in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (pictured above) to see the wrackspurts in Harry’s head, thereby finding him while he was invisible.