November 4 – Who wouldn’t want this?

Bright eyes cheer the heart; good news strengthens the bones.  (Proverbs 15:30 HCSB)

Bright eyes, and good news - the requirements to receive the two promises of a cheered heart, and strengthened bones.  How many people suffer from debilitating depression that not only effects them emotionally, but saps their physical strength?  All of us have gone through times of grief or sadness when we’ve felt that the most basic daily tasks were heavy burdens.  This small verse is God’s antidote for that.

Matthew 6:22 says, “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness—how deep is that darkness!”

God is obviously not talking about having good vision, but having spiritual eyes that know how to interpret what is going on around us.  They are eyes that can see God at work, even when our physical eyes see nothing.  When evil is threatening us, our spiritual eyes can be bright and full of light, because we know that we have authority in the name of Jesus to defeat that evil.  Our eyes are able to see that we are the giants and the problems are mere ants – even when everyone else is panicking.  

Eyes that can see God in the midst of a storm or an endless desert, are bright and are able to give us joy.  Joy draws us closer to God, and destroys demons’ attempts to rob us of our faith.  

Good news is also spiritual in nature, not the 5 o’clock eyewitness reports on TV. The word “gospel,” simply means good news.  It’s the news that Jesus brought the world that we have access directly to God, we have authority over all evil in His name and that we can become children of God to live forever in His Kingdom if we die to ourselves and accept a life of servanthood to Jesus as our Lord.  

Having bright eyes is a choice, and good news has already been given to us, but it’s up to us to act on it.  I remember many times irritating people with my choice to be happy about uncertain situations, proclaiming how they will work out fine in the end.  If people really do want joy and strength, why does it bother them when we live that way?  Because spiritual power is behind it.  The devil works overtime to convince those who he oppresses, that this kind of joy is false and insulting, and that there is no such thing as good news.  Some have told me that it’s easy for me because I’m a pastor, and that I’m cruel to expect them to be so sure of their future.  The only cruel one is the devil, who wants to steal away your joy and nullify your attempts at having faith.   

This little verse is packed with power.  If you are wise you will start to live out these principles and see the results right away.  Who wouldn’t want a cheerful heart?