Double Vision

 

Back in pediatric clinic, we screened our infants and toddlers regularly for strabismus, a condition where the child’s eyes are pointing in different directions. It’s important to treat this early in life because it can lead to amblyopia, with resulting severe vision loss or blindness in the affected eye. The problem comes about when the child’s brain starts focusing only on one eye and ignoring the other to keep from having double vision. The nerves to the ignored eye don’t develop properly, leading to irreversible damage.

 

We talked about our goals for life last week. It’s important to have goals, to provide a measuring stick to see how we are doing. If our primary goal in life is a selfish or worldly one, we may develop an internal “double vision” with our spiritual goals. When this happens, we will tend to prioritize worldly things to the detriment of our spiritual life. Over a long enough period of time, the spiritual side of our life may atrophy.

 

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18). We need to consciously look at the world through our spiritual eyes in order to keep our focus on God.  Our individual goals in life, whether they be personal, physical, social, family, spiritual, or career in nature, need to be aligned with our overall goal of serving God and drawing closer to Him.

 

Our goal-setting process begins with prayer, asking for God’s help in coming up with goals and then laying those goals before Him. He knows our innermost being and the desires of our heart. He also knows and wants the best life for us. We should, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

 

We should be accountable for our progress in reaching the goals we set. Consider writing them down and/or sharing them with someone so that you can track how you are doing. Never lose hope; we may fall short of our goals, but we know that God will always be there to pick us up and help us go forward again. Realize that your goals may change over time.  God will lead you, but He won’t necessarily give you the plan for the rest of your life all at once.

 

The Devotionals Daily blog has a good article on some practical day-to-day aspects of setting goals for living out our Christian faith, “Ten Steps to Setting God-Ordained Goals”. You can find it at https://faithgateway.com/blogs/christian-books/ten-steps-setting-god-ordained-goals?_pos=1&_sid=338f8095d&_ss=r.

 

For those of you who just want the list, I’m including it here.

 

1. Start with Prayer

2. Check Your Motives

3. Think in Categories

4. Be Specific

5. Write It Down

6. Include Others

7. Celebrate along the Way

8. Dream Big

9. Think Long

10. Pray Hard

 

Another good article is one that I have previously recommended, “20 Goals Every Christian Should Set” by Lori Freeland. You can find it at https://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/20-goals-every-christian-should-set.html.

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The individual posts in this blog have been collected into a book, Reflections From the Basic Truths Blog.  It is available for free as an ebook through Barnes and Noble, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/reflections-from-the-basic-truths-blog-james-yarmchuk/1147055811?ean=2940181202702, Apple Books, and multiple other book websites. It is available for a minimal charge on Amazon and can also be purchased as a paperback through them.