Things are Not Always as They Appear

Written by John Grant

If you are struggling with something in your life right now, have a question, or just need a listening ear, we invite you to share with us.

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Cor.11:13).

Last week, the “trail boss” of our church motorcycle group organized a ride to a place called “Spook Hill,” where it appears that vehicles defy the law of gravity and roll uphill. In reality, it is an optical illusion that makes it look like an uphill roll, but the law of gravity has not yet been repealed and objects still roll downhill, no matter what ancient spirits may allegedly be lurking around.

We had a good time, but on the ride back, I couldn’t help but draw a spiritual comparison to our visit. Satan often disguises that which is bad to appear as good. The enemy often tries to portray himself as good, a friend who cares for you or as truth.

That is not the case though, Peter said “your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour”. He lays traps and waits for you to fall. He is after the result and may work on traps that take years to develop in your life when he can rise up and pounce on you.

No need to fear though as God says “Greater is He who is in your than he that is in the world”. God will take care of it if you let Him. But, we must know the source and not trust what we see or feel in a worldly sense.

We always need to be on alert and use caution. Things are not always as they appear. At times we can allow what we find desirable to overshadow and hide the truth we do not want to see that is in details. If we are not careful, we will only see what we want to see.

Other times, we may find something or someone that appears to be good only to find out later that we were deceived. We often are not aware of all the facts or know the end result.

The real question is whether we see things with worldly eyes……. eyes conditioned by the educational system, the media, the entertainment industry and others that would mould our minds to be unlike the mind of Christ or with spiritual eyes, the way God sees things.

How do I acquire spiritual eyes? I do it by constantly worshiping God throughout my daily routine, by being in the Word daily, by regularly participating in public worship and Bible fellowship with other Christians.

Lord, please mold my eyes, my mind and my perspective to be like that of You. Give me the spiritual eyes to see as You see, no matter how deceptive things may be from a non-Biblical world view. Thank you, Lord. I ask this in Your name, amen.

(a thought on life from John Grant)

Questions: How can one acquire spiritual eyes? Can you tell us about an experience when things were not what they appeared to be?

About the Author John Grant

Daily audio podcast: A second daily devotional, Mercy and Grace, today on the Men’s Devotional Blog

Tags: deceitful, devil, disguises, educational system, false apostles, fear, john grant, mind, motorcycle, optical illusion

2 Responses to “Things are Not Always as They Appear”

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Marilyn says:

May 25, 2009 at 1:10 pm

An awesome devotion, John — thank you! Spiritual ‘eyes’ come from loving God and His Word, and desiring Truth. As we hunger for it, He is faithful to ‘feed’ us! He promises wisdom to all who ask, and wisdom is spiritual understanding, or spiritual ‘eyes.’ As He knows our hearts, when we seek His heart with genuine longing, He grants us new ‘lenses’ to see as He sees! This may rattle some cages, but abortion is an excample of ‘something not being what it appears to be.’ It is carefully disquised as a woman’s right to choose, and a ‘decision’ between a woman and her doctor. This would be true if there wasn’t a third party involved. That third party is a human being in it’s youngest stage of development, fully dependent upon the loving, protective care of it’s mother, and the legal protection of it’s constitutional rights. Would one sanction the voluntary killing of toddlers or teenagers, saying that it’s the parent’s right to choose? How can a 26-week-old fetus be a baby when the mother goes into premature labor and delivers it, but not a baby when an unmarried woman decides that it’s not convenient to be a parent? Does ‘unplanned’ mean expendable? Does being ‘planned’ assign more worth to a baby? From God’s perspective, ALL pregnancies are planned. Or, is He not able to stop conception at will? If we, as Christians, truly believe that God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, then why would He not be able to prevent conception, when He is the Creator of our bodies? It all boils down to what we believe about God. The Bible tells us that He knows us in the ‘secret place,’ that He is there when we are ‘knit together in our mother’s womb’, that we are ALL (not just those who are ‘planned’) created in His image. This is a perfect example of God’s gift of ‘spiritual eyes,’ for He helps us to ‘see’ the truth about abortion, and prompts an outcry for mercy on the weakest members of our society!
kanj says:

May 24, 2009 at 6:43 pm

John, thank you for the devotional. I speak only for me and no one else; I believe what I believe and that is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Holy Living Bible-God’s Word.
And no ‘one’ has the ability to change my heart’s faith and truth but myself. I have that choice as God gives us all choice.
As far as experiences when things were not what they appeared to be–that was my life before I knew Christ Jesus as my Savior.