Six Thousand Stars or Billions?

"The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" - Ephesians 1:18 (NKJV)

Sometimes we just don't see what's right there in front of us. Our physical senses in the natural world are limited. I was thinking about how many stars there are in the sky. For many years, throughout much of our early recorded history, we thought that, with the human eye alone, there were probably 6,000 or 7,000 stars in the sky. It took something called a telescope to extend our vision, allowing us to see beyond our limitations. We could see the millions and billions of stars that are really out there. They've always been there, but are now visible because we can see beyond our own physical limitations.

Our physical senses are limited. We can only see so far, and this applies to our spiritual lives as well. The beauty of your salvation is that even as a child, you can grasp certain elements of your walk with God. You can appreciate how beautiful some of those truths are. And the longer you walk with Jesus, the deeper and more meaningful it becomes to you. Why? It's not that it necessarily changes, but your understanding does.

Paul is praying that we would have spiritual telescopes - that "the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened." There are spiritual realities, spiritual blessings, spiritual truths that have always been there, just like those billions of stars. But we need the Holy Spirit to give us the spiritual equipment to see beyond our natural limitations.

Reflection Question: What spiritual "stars" might you be missing in your Christian life because you're only seeing with natural vision instead of asking God for spiritual telescopes?

Heavenly Father, just like those billions of stars that were always shining but beyond natural sight, I know there are spiritual realities I'm not seeing yet. Please enlighten the eyes of my understanding so I can see the riches of Your inheritance and the hope of my calling that have always been there. Help me see beyond my natural limitations into the spiritual blessings You've made available to me. In Jesus' Name, amen.

Check out: "Seeing With the Eyes of the Heart" (Ephesians 1:15-19): https://www.joshfranklin.org/media/td3gnp7/6-seeing-with-the-eyes-of-the-heart-eph-1-15-19