Having gone through the lives of some of the great men that made history, in the bible and secular world, i could only find one thing they all had in common - the proper use of their eyes. I tried hard to understand the difference between them and those that failed along the way (those who also used their eyes), especially in the bible, and i found that the difference lies between looking and seeing.
The act of looking is limited to what the physical eyes can see, while the act of seeing goes beyond what the physical eyes can see and believe. Notice that the former involves less activity of just seeing things as they are because you have an evidence or there is an actual form of what your eyes see, while the latter involves looking beyond the physical evidence, seeing the possibility of what will become and believing the existence of what you see. While looking focuses on the natural, seeing focuses on the supernatural. Through the eyes of faith, you see into the supernatural, through the physical eyes you see the natural.
2 Corinthians 5:7 (KJV)
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
God never deals with men who have refused to see beyond the physical, he deals with men who have actually seen beyond their environment, beyond the traditions of men, beyond the limitation posed on people by the economy; God deals with men who actually look and see into the spiritual realm.
Jeremiah saw and was able to go for the Lord - Jeremiah 1:11 Then the LORD said to me, "Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?" And I replied, "I see a branch from an almond tree."
Moses saw the invisible and was able to embark on a mission that seemed impossible - Hebrews 11:27 It was by faith that Moses left the land of Egypt, not fearing the king's anger. He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.
Amos believed that the Lord was set to release judgment upon the wicked, after he saw - Amos 8:2 "What do you see, Amos?" he asked. I replied, "A basket full of ripe fruit." Then the LORD said, "Like this fruit, Israel is ripe for punishment! I will not delay their punishment again.
Abraham looked and saw beyond where he was standing, he received what he saw - Genesis 13:15 For all the land which you see, to you will I give it, and to your seed for ever.
Some years ago, I started working with a group of people that smiled home 10x richer than everyone in their team, but I never saw the gold involved in what they were doing, how much more see the possibility of being the first point of contact. However, I had been working with them and never really bothered to look beyond the papers and prints. One day, after a quiet moment with God, He opened my eyes to see beyond what I had been looking at for years and I discovered how much treasure I had been overlooking for years. I had a rush of adrenaline, that I almost screamed off my head in excitement.
Abraham was a man that saw the invisible and believed that what he saw (that is, beyond the physical realm) would be possible; possible for others who coudn't see what he was seeing at the time, to behold with their physical eyes. It was what Abraham saw that made it possible for him to do the impossible. At the age of 75 years, God called Abraham and made a promise to him, that he'll be the father of many nations (Genesis 12:2-4). At the age of 100, he was told about a child from his wife, Sarah, who was 90 years old (Read Genesis 17:1-19).
Genesis 17:16 & 17 (NLT)
16 And I will bless her and give you a son from her! Yes, I will bless her richly, and she will become the mother of many nations. Kings of nations will be among her descendants.” 17 Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become a father at the age of 100?” he thought. “And how can Sarah have a baby when she is ninety years old?” That was the most unbelievable news of his lifetime. At 100? What? Sarah at 90?
Abraham must have screamed, "God are you kidding me?" But i'll tell you how he was able to manifest the impossible (hold it here for a second).
Genesis 18:10-14
10 Then one of them said, "About this time next year I will return, and your wife Sarah will have a son."Now Sarah was listening to this conversation from the tent nearby. 11 And since Abraham and Sarah were both very old, and Sarah was long past the age of having children, 12 she laughed silently to herself. "How could a worn-out woman like me have a baby?" she thought. "And when my master -- my husband -- is also so old?" 13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, 'Can an old woman like me have a baby?' 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? About a year from now, just as I told you, I will return, and Sarah will have a son."
Sarah also heard (verse 10) the promise, she saw the invisible; Abraham did not need to tell her about what the Lord had promised for her to believe with him, in order for the promise to be manifested. They both saw the invisible having heard from the Lord. Now, lets go back to how they were able to manifest what they had seen, even though it seemed impossible and everything was against this promise.
Hebrews 11:11 (NIV)
By faith Abraham, even though he was past age--and Sarah herself was barren--was enabled to become a father because he considered him faithful who had made the promise.
Hebrews 11:11 (KJV)
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Through faith they were enabled, they both believe what they both heard, and received strength to wait for its fulfilment. The ability to manifest the glory of God came through empowerment that resulted from the act of believing wht they saw. It would have been impossible for them to be empowered to believe what another was seeing for them. Can you imagine someone else receiving a message for you and not sharing it with you, or someone having faith about what they see for you? No matter how well they do in convincing you encouraging you that what you hope for will come, you're bound to give up hoping and waiting. Moreso, if your neighbors mock you about age or every thing against your expectations, you will certainly throw in the towel and find another solution which will certainly back fire.
But Abraham saw the invisible and received strength to manifest the impossible. His age and everthing about him kept on screaming impossible, his neighbors might have mocked him and called him impotent, his in-laws must have called him a day-dreamer who as expecting the impossible; his wife must have thought to herself, how can this ever be when i have no desire for pleasure, everything about me rules out the possibility of this ever manifesting. She must have thought to herself, is there anything too hard for the Lord? I better believe this.
When a promise is made to you, be very careful to run with it and not look back. The devil will set traps and tempt you so hard to forget about the promise and lose your reward. Because the one who the promise is made to carries the promise on the inside, avoid any conversation or attempt from the outside that will corrupt it. What you the carrier sees is very different from what those on the outside can ever imagine. The eyes you see with are the eyes of faith, which sees in the suprnatural; the sources from outside see with their pysical eyes while their eyes of faith remain shut.
Dare to see with the eyes of faith, dare to see beyond the physical, dare to see the possibilty of the impossible, and you'll find yourself manifesting uncommon weight of glory.
