As I was driving down the street a few weeks ago I saw what I thought was a man standing at the edge of the road.  I was far enough away and could not yet see clearly.   I slowed down just to ensure this potential person’s safety just in case they were going to bolt out onto the road.  As I approached the object I realized that it was just a tree about the size of a man.  I immediately heard the following verse in my spirit:

Mark 8:22-25 Amplified Bible (AMP)

22 Then they came to Bethsaida; and some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged Him to touch him. 23 Taking the blind man by the hand, He led him out of the village; and after spitting on his eyes and laying His hands on him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?” 24 And he looked up and said, “I see people, but [they look] like trees, walking around.” 25 Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.

The Spirit began to speak to me about the deeper revelation of this verse that I had not seen before.  As I drove along the road I sensed that God was concerned about the blind man’s spiritual sight and not just his ability to see in the natural realm.  Often in Scripture we humans are referred to spiritually as trees.  Let’s examine the verses below:

Numbers 24:5-6 Amplified Bible (AMP)

5 How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
And your tabernacles, O Israel!
6 “Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens beside the river,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.

Jeremiah 17:8 Amplified Bible (AMP)

8 “For he will be [nourished] like a tree planted by the waters,
That spreads out its roots by the river;
And will not fear the heat when it comes;
But its leaves will be green and moist.
And it will not be anxious and concerned in a year of drought
Nor stop bearing fruit.

God likens His people to trees that flourish by the water.  We know that the Holy Spirit is often represented as water.  We grow and come to maturity in the power of the Holy Spirit.

When I read the story of the blind man having his sight restored; I believe that when Jesus asked him if he could see anything, he may have been making sure that he was also receiving his spiritual sight as well.  Notice that this blind man received that first (he saw men like trees).  Why?  Spiritual eyesight, dare I say, is at least as important as our natural eyesight if not even more important.  As I see the scene in my mind’s eye I can see Jesus laying hands on this man’s eyes.  The Healer, the King of Glory just touched this man’s eyes.  He had a supernatural encounter with heaven at that moment.  It only makes sense that this blind man who once was lost and had now just been found could see with his spiritual eyes before he received his natural, earthly sight.  What a beautiful day it must have been for this man.  He received a double blessing!  

What does our spiritual eyesight do for us?  Let’s see what God’s Word tells us:

Psalm 119:18    Open my eyes [to spiritual truth] so that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.

Matthew 13:16

But blessed [spiritually aware, and favored by God] are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

Acts 26:18

to open their [spiritual] eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness and release from their sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (set apart, made holy) by faith in Me.’

2 Peter 1:9 For whoever lacks these qualities is blind—shortsighted [closing his spiritual eyes to the truth], having become oblivious to the fact that he was cleansed from his old sins.

Spiritual eyesight benefits our spirit, soul, and physical bodies.  Having spiritual eyesight assists us in seeing what the Father sees and moving toward His greater truth for our lives.  Our supernatural eyesight allows us to perceive things in the spirit (light and darkness) and alerts us to what is happening in the unseen realm.  We so often lose sight of the fact that the unseen heavenly realm is just as real and even more permanent and eternal than what we look at with the naked eye in the present.  

Let’s look at the last verse of that portion of Scripture again:

25 Then again Jesus laid His hands on his eyes; and the man stared intently and [his sight] was [completely] restored, and he began to see everything clearly.

As you spend time with your Creator today, stare intently at Him.  Let your prayer include a request to have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Spirit of the Living God is saying to you today.  Press in with our beautiful God and stare at Him intently until you can see clearly.

For the Kingdom,

Donna