"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law" (Ps. 119:18, KJV).*

F ALL THE HEALING MIRACLES OF Jesus, those in which sight is restored to the blind have always fascinated me. The various methods by which Jesus restored sight to the blind include touching--as in the case of two blind men (Matt. 9:27-30), using saliva (Mark 8:22-26), applying mud (John 9), and by word--simply ordering the blind to see (Mark 10:52). Whatever the method, the result was the same: an individual once blind was now endowed with the gift of sight.

Yet, as marvelous as are Jesus' healing miracles on behalf of the physically blind, the Bible also contains numerous instances in which God heals spiritual blindness, a blindness that prevents those afflicted with it from understanding heavenly truths, from perceiving God's plan for their lives. It's completely possible for one to have perfect 20/20 physical vision, and yet be spiritually blind.

Blinded by Materialism
"Then the Lord opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown" (Num. 22:31).

In the moments prior to having his eyes opened, Balaam accepts a bribe to curse God's people. Even though the Lord had explicitly spoken to him against accompanying the ambassadors of the Moabite king, he can't bear the thought of losing out on the precious gifts and the money.

Realizing that their efforts are in vain, the foreign emissaries leave for home. But rather than be thankful for being spared further temptation, Balaam begins a hot pursuit, with instant material gratification on his mind. And when the Lord, in His grace, ends the prophet's rush by blocking his path, Balaam becomes so passionate about the earthly reward before him that he cannot see the sight his donkey sees. Even the miraculous speech of a beast of burden fails to awaken his spiritual senses.

Ellen G. White describes the scene: "Balaam owed the preservation of his life to the poor animal that he had treated so cruelly. The man who claimed to be a prophet of the Lord, who declared that his eyes were open, and he saw the 'vision of the Almighty,' was so blinded by covetousness and ambition that he could not discern the angel of God visible to his beast" (Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 442).

Balaam is saved from immediate destruction when the angel of the Lord mercifully opens his eyes, granting him insight into the spiritual dimension. He then prostrates himself in awe of God's presence.

We are also prone to blindness in our materialistic pursuits. But in His grace the Lord sends us spiritual stimuli to restore our sight.

Blinded by Fear
"And Elisha prayed, 'O Lord, open his eyes so he may see.' Then the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17, NIV).

With special spiritual eyesight, Elisha receives divine revelations about the specific threats posed by the king of Syria. The king, irate over his foiled plots against Israel, now sends an army on a manhunt to destroy him. Tracking Elisha to the town of Dothan, the mercenaries arrive during the night, encircle their target, and prepare for the kill.

Elisha's servant, out early the next morning to draw water, realizes that they're completely surrounded by enemy soldiers. Gripped by fear, he cries out, "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" (verse 15).

Chapters 4, 5, and 8 of 2 Kings identify Elisha's servant as Gehazi, his name meaning "valley of vision." Indeed, his physical eyesight that morning was perfect, spotting individual Syrian soldiers hidden amid the surrounding trees and behind boulders. His spiritual sight, however, is another story.

"Don't be afraid," Elisha reassures him. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them" (2 Kings 6:16).

But that is not enough. Sensing that his servant is about to be totally overcome by fear, Elisha issues a prayer asking God to heal Gehazi's spiritual blindness: "O Lord, open his eyes so he may see" (verse 17). Instantly the miracle is performed. The trembling servant sees chariots of fire and horses far outnumbering the threatening enemy.

When gripped by fear in the face of insurmountable odds, we too may ask God to open our spiritual eyes.

Blinded by Self-pity
"Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink" (Gen. 21:19).

Lost in the desert, a mother weeps. There's nothing around but oceans of scalding sand. She can no longer bear to look at Ishmael, her dehydrated teenage son. After days wandering around in arid circles, she is back at the same spot.

In one sense this scenario is a metaphor reflecting her life. Many years earlier she'd found herself in a similar desert. Having complied to serve as a surrogate mother for Abraham's child, she suffered scorn and abuse flamed by the passions of jealousy. After she'd fled to the desert, the angel of the Lord told her to return, and promised great blessings for her unborn child. Through Ishmael her posterity would be innumerable. And so she had returned to her mistress.

Now, 15 years later, dormant jealousies are rekindled with Isaac's birth to Abraham. And again Hagar finds herself in the desert where she'd been before. Her dreams shattered, her aspirations vanished, even God seems to have broken His promises.

But when all seems lost, the angel of the Lord appears. As she wallows in self-pity, however, she misses a powerful insight: Although she is lost in the desert, God has not lost her! The angel assures her that God has heard the cries of her son, and then the miracle happens--God opens her eyes, and she sees a well of water.

God had led Hagar to this well, but her tear-filled eyes had been unable to see His providence. When in our own experience we're taken to the desert, we'd do well to seek God's springs of living water. Despair and self-pity quickly lead to spiritual blindness and death. But when the Lord opens our eyes to His fountain, He promises that we will never thirst again.

Blinded by Fatigue
"Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him" (Luke 9:32).

As the sunset approaches in Jesus' earthly ministry, He seeks to prepare His disciples for the rough period looming ahead. After a full day of ministry He summons His closest disciples to a prayerful retreat on a mountain. At first the disciples unite their prayers with that of their Master, says Mrs. White, "in sincere devotion." But as the hours drag, they're "overcome with weariness and loss of sleep, and even while endeavoring to retain their interest in the scene," they fall asleep (see Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 2, p. 327).

As they sleep, a magnificent transformation takes place in Christ. Moses and Elijah are sent to reassure Him of certain triumph in the approaching crisis. Suddenly awaking from sleep, says Ellen White, the disciples "behold the sublime vision before them, [and] are filled with rapture and awe" (ibid., p. 330).

Back to their senses, they behold the glory of God and are able to salvage part of the blessing Jesus had planned for them. But how much more they'd have benefited from the occasion had they not been blinded by physical fatigue!

When we become so wrapped up in our earthly chores, so stressed out by daily cares, God chooses moments of our spiritual slumber to open our eyes to heavenly realities. As in the case of the disciples, He awakens us to the light of His glory.

Blinded by Hopelessness
"When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight" (Luke 24:30, 31).

Two of Christ's disciples had given up on Jesus, His message, and the church. Jerusalem behind them, they are backsliding home to Emmaus. The Messianic movement had flickered and died, as had the others before it. Mary and Peter had told them about the empty tomb, but they couldn't comprehend that the greatest event in cosmic history had just occurred.

Christ joins them on their journey and seeks to comfort them. He hopes that His teaching will elicit their recognition of Him. But they're too blinded by despair. They arrive home, Christ stays with them, and as He gives the grace and breaks the bread, it suddenly happens: they recognize the risen Savior. Then as suddenly as He'd appeared, Jesus disappears, and their spiritual blindness heals. They'd seen the resurrected Christ.

Hopelessness had fled in the light of God's glory. Reenergized, they no longer feel hungry. Leaving everything, they make a U-turn for Jerusalem--a U-turn back to the message, back to the church, and back to fellowship with the apostles.

There are times in our lives when we're surrounded by doom and hopelessness. Our discouragement may even be sparked by the acts of fellow believers. In those moments we will be tempted to turn our backs on God and His church. But we must never forget the last promise Jesus made to His followers before ascending to heaven: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:20).

Open My Eyes
Today, we boast about our intelligence, but we've lost the spiritual perception needed to process adequately the events around us. The apostle Paul wrote that "the god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Cor. 4:4).

But spiritual blindness is not limited to unbelievers. There are many today who profess the name of Jesus and yet are unable to see a manifestation of His power in their lives. Diagnosing the root of the blindness, Paul said that "the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). Without spiritual discernment we can no more see the beauty of God's love than a color-blind person can appreciate the beauty of a rainbow.

Loss of spiritual sight also affects spiritual leaders. Christ in His day warned of the dangers of following spiritually blind leaders. "Leave them; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit" (Matt. 15:14).

If we really want to see those spiritual dimensions previously invisible to us, we should ask Jesus to open our eyes. We will then answer, as did the blind man Jesus healed, "One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!" (John 9:25).

Open my eyes, that I may see Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me; Place in my hands the wonderful key That shall unclasp and set me free. Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready, my God, Thy will to see; Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit divine! Open my ears, that I may hear Voices of truth Thou sendest clear; and while the wave-notes fall on my ear, Everything false will disappear. Silently now I wait for Thee, Ready, my God, Thy will to see; Open my ears, illumine me, Spirit divine! --Clara H. Scott, 1895.

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*Unless otherwise noted, Bible texts in this article are from the New International Version.

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Daniel Honore is an immigration attorney in Boston, Massachusetts. He attends the Brockton Temple Seventh-day Adventist Church.