As I browse through social media, I can’t help but notice the prevalence of visuals in communication. It’s fascinating how a simple picture or graphic can convey a message. Sometimes, though you haven’t even heard any word, you can understand what is happening because our brains are created with the ability to interpret and understand the dynamic world around us, whether it’s through our own movement or the movement of objects in our environment.
God speaks to us in different ways and we can experience the voice of God is through our senses including hearing, knowing, feeling and seeing. Our focus in the write-up is hearing God through sight. The Cambridge dictionary defines sight as “the ability to see”. Indeed, God can communicate with us by presenting images or visual scenes, and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can discern the message He is conveying. When we think of sight, our initial thought may be our natural ability to see with our physical eyes. However, there is a deeper level of sight that goes beyond the physical, known as spiritual sight. This spiritual sight allows us to see beyond the natural and perceive God’s voice in a profound way. We have the opportunity to experience God’s communication through both our natural and spiritual sight.
Here are a few common ways in which we can perceive God’s voice through our sight:
- Physical sight, Creation and Nature
Although God has invisible attributes, the natural world that we see with our physical eyes, created by God, serves as a means of communicating to us about His divine nature, eternal power, and glory. The things in the physical world act as signpost, guiding us to perceive deep messages from God. For example, the physical bond of a marriage relationship, as God intended, is meant to communicate the intimate relationship He desires between Jesus Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:22-32). Sometimes, just watching a Christian’s physical gesture of loving so sacrificial or helping a stranger or not revenging after someone seriously hurt him can communicate to the one watching about the love of God.
Furthermore, God can use physical sight to communicate a specific message. .
Recently, I have been working on a project with a friend, and the obstacles we are facing seem insurmountable, causing me to worry about how we will achieve our goal. However, during my daily routine, I passed by a wall adorned with a painting depicting the biblical David using a sling to defeat Goliath. This image sparked a deep realization within me – that overcoming our challenges will require utilizing the resources we already possess, much like David did with his sling and stone. It became clear that by taking small steps in our project, we can conquer the formidable obstacles in our path and ultimately reach our goals.
In another circumstance, just seeing a poor person can cause you to be compassionate and through that compassion, God can lead you to help the person.
Also, visual arts, such as movies, are powerful mediums through which we can experience the voice of God. Recently, I watched a Christian film that reveals how ancestral altars and bloodline patterns causes of some afflictions that individuals and families face. Many people truly testify of how God used this movie to open them up to the foundational causes of some of their afflictions and how they picked scriptures and prayer points from the movies, prayed consistently and finally got delivered by God. Nevertheless, while there are alot of good Godly movies, art, music etc we need to be keen to select what we watch because the entertainment industry has been so infiltrated with ungodly content which is derailing so many people.
Furthermore, the natural environment that we observe with our physical eyes serves as a reminder of the existence and magnificence of the creator. Do you take the time to appreciate the beauty of the moon, stars, day, night, sun, trees, and seas on a daily basis? For anything to exist, there must be a creator. Doesn’t the beauty of nature speak to you about the creator-God’s glory and splendor? Looking at creation do you still need to doubt God’s existence or His glory? “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20); The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not hearing. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4).
- Enlightenment from Scriptures.
While reading the Bible, there are moments when a particular verse or passage seems to leap off the page and speak directly to you. It’s as if the words are meant specifically for you, which encourages, gives direction, corrects, rebukes, brings clarity, address a situation etc. This is how while using your physical sight to read scriptures, God quickens your spirit with a word. Other times, scrolling through a social media feed may bring you to a video or post that imparts you with a much-needed teaching. You might even come across a scripture on a friend’s WhatsApp status that resonates with you as if it were meant specifically for you. These are all tangible ways in which you can receive messages from God with your sight.
The points mentioned above are not exhaustive as God can use diverse ways to talk to you through your physical sight. They are just a pointer to help us understand that God can use what you see with you physical eyes to convey a message
In this write-up, we focused on physical sight. Please click here – Perceiving God’s Voice Through Sight – 2 to continue reading on how we can experience God through spiritual sight including dreams, visions and trances.
Remain Blessed