The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe
"Sensory Deprived"
A young man once said to me, "If I could see and hear the Lord, I would trust Him and His Word more."
For all the world, this seems to be the case. For all Heaven, however, it is presently not true.
"We walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).
In this life, we do far better not seeing and hearing the Lord, based on His current purpose in our hearts. Consider the disciples. When did their response best honor God and fulfill His will? Clearly, not when they were blessed by the sights and sounds of the Lord Jesus Christ's physical presence. "They all forsook Him and fled" declares Mark of the moment of the disciples' greatest opportunity for faithfulness to their Master while in His physical presence (Mark 14:50). Conversely, history records marvels of devotion by the disciples who became apostles after the Lord Jesus left them, to the degree that all suffered greatly, and nearly all were martyred for Christ.
"For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men" (I Corinthians 4:9).
As presently constituted, we do best with the sensory deprivation required by the life of faith. God works to reveal to us the primacy of the heart, as opposed to the vagaries of the senses. We still live in the flesh inherited from Adam, which is devoted to sensory stimulation and emphasis. "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe" declared Thomas, representing every human being of Adam's race apart from the redeeming work of God in our hearts (John 14:20). The Lord Jesus accommodated Thomas, but told him plainly that faith of the heart transcends sight of the eye: "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed" (John 20:29). Indeed, in this life, seeing and hearing our Lord would keep us mired in the carnal emphasis from which we must be delivered in order to "walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16)
The blessed hour approaches when we shall see our "Lord face to face" (I Corinthians 13:12). In that hour, sensory deprivation will end and it will be best that we see, hear, and touch the Lord Jesus. Presently, however, He calls us to know the presence of His heart by faith, and to perceive the working of His hand in accordance with His Word. In a world such as now exists, and in a lifetime when our Heavenly Father invites us into the depths of His heart despite the profound challenges we now face, nothing could more make possible our knowledge of Him. In fact nothing else can make possible such a sensory deprived, but spirit blessed privilege and honor to "walk by faith, not by sight."
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen… But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."
(Hebrews 11:1; 6)
Weekly Memory Verse
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts. And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
(Psalm 139:23-24)
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