August 5

Help in Time of Need

‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’ And do you not remember? — Mark 8:18 BSB

It’s not unreasonable to expect a person with two eyes, walking through an art gallery, to see the beautiful paintings on the walls. After all, why were their eyes given to them, if not to see? In the same way, it wasn’t unreasonable for Jesus to expect His disciples to understand His spiritual teachings. They had eyes with which they could see spiritual truths, but they failed to use them. “Having eyes, do you not see?”

Many people never learn to see with their natural eyes. They walk through the fields on a summer day and fail to notice the beauty all around them. Yet in every wildflower and every blade of grass, there is enough beauty to fill even the dullest heart with joy. This is even more true in spiritual matters. We live in a world filled with the wonders of God’s love, yet how little of it do we truly see? Even at our best, we see only dimly, as through a darkened glass. Shouldn’t we train our eyes to see more clearly?

There was also another faculty the disciples weren’t using—memory. “Do you not remember?” They remembered the facts of the miracles very well, but they had forgotten the spiritual lessons the miracles were meant to teach. This is something we all tend to do. We remember the things God has done for us, but we don’t always learn the lessons those experiences were meant to teach us. We fail to grow from them. Every time God delivers us from danger or helps us in a time of need, it should write a new lesson on our hearts about trusting Him. When we face similar challenges again, we shouldn’t be afraid. We should remember how God helped us before and trust that He will do the same in the future.