Open The Eyes Of My Heart

Over a period of time I have longed to see the Lord face to face, an experience that a few of our brothers and sisters in the Lord have had. At times I have prayed hard beseeching the Lord to allow me to experience viewing His actual appearance even at the very least in a dream.
I would even quote scriptures to the Lord including Matthew 7:7:
⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – NIV

Yesterday I was riding my bike to run an errand and on the way I saw a kitten in distress. It looked like it was separated from its litter and was emaciated and in danger of being run over or crushed on the dirt road in my neighborhood. I passed it and I felt an intense sense of compassion so I picked it up and put it safely to the side determined that if I returned and found it there I would take it home. Lo and behold there it was and so somehow a few meters ahead I saw a cat with kittens sucking on it and concluded it could be the mother. Sure enough I put the cat there with its siblings and hopefully ‘Champ’ will have survived with its mom. I then realised that even it this little creature that God lovingly brought to birth was the expression of His presence in a small way.

To this very day I have not had that experience that I so long for, so I await the wedding feast of the Lamb and bridegroom, if I do not fall asleep before that day. Having said this, I must confess that I have experienced the manifest presence of God and have had one dream where I experienced an upward pull and flight towards an amazing and brilliant white light and when I woke up I knew it was the Lord and can only assume it was a picture of the rapture. I can remember the intense feeling of joy that I felt and woke up with. I must also confess that at one time in deep prayer I know the Lord spoke to me saying that I would not see Him for my awareness of Him was sufficient and He even gave me a scripture saying I was even more blessed because of this.

²⁴ Now Thomas (also known as Didymus^[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶ A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

²⁸ Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

²⁹ Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20: 24-29, NIV

As you can see here, it is more about faith than sight, and there is no better illustration of this principle than 2 Corinthians 5: 7: For we live by faith, not by sight.

It is my prayer that you experience the manifest presence of God, and that Christ Jesus grants you the grace to see Him face to face in the land of the living but it is more so my prayer that you learn to walk by faith and not by sight, knowing that He promised He would never leave us nor forsake us. he is Emmanuel, God among us. the Alpha and Omega. Jehovah our salvation. Prince of Peace. Lord of Lords. Be blessed! Be of faith! Believe!