Can't Believe My Eyes

This morning I am thinking about a recent visit to the bank.  As I was on my way out, I saw that the door had a rather prominent handle on it.  My arm was already extended so I could grab the handle and pull, when I noticed the word written on the door: “Push.”  I seriously had to stop for a few seconds, while my mind processed this contradiction.  My inclination was to just go ahead and pull.  I mean, why would there be a handle on a door that was meant to be pushed open?  Then I remembered that I’d had to pull the door open to come inside the bank.  So it became logical that I’d have to push to get out, despite what that perplexing handle suggested.  Had I chosen to stand there and pull, I would have caused myself to remain stuck inside and, quite frankly, looking a bit foolish.  So it often is with the choices I face in life.  Sometimes, what I can see with my eyes tells me that I should take a specific course of action or make certain commitments.  By all indications, in a given moment it just makes sense…to either say “yes” or to say “no thanks”…to either give up or keep trying…to either speak my heart or to hold my peace…to either move on or to wait.  However, I have learned (and, I am learning) that it’s always best to look for a Word and make my decisions based on that.  There have been many times when my eyes deceived me.  Everything I could see clearly said: “You are weak,” or “You can’t do that,” or “You have messed up too many times.”  Yet, what I could see with my natural eyes was challenged by the Word, which said: “You are strong,” and “You can do all things,” and “You are forgiven.”  Invariably, when I’ve made choices based only on what I could perceive outwardly, I rendered myself stuck in some unproductive and unfavorable places…and, quite frankly, looking a bit foolish.  It seems I would have learned by now that I can’t always believe my eyes.  I guess this is one example of what it means to “walk by faith, and not by sight.”  I am thankful for this sweet reminder today, that I need not be made hostage by the dictates of my physical perceptions.  I know that, when I choose to go with what the Word says—even when it feels confusing and doesn’t seem to make sense—I will find myself enjoying the freedom of moving purposefully forward.