In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:1-4 NKJV

In this New Year (2020), it is a new decade and a new season; thus, it is fitting to refer back to the beginning of the very first year, almost 6,020 years ago: “In the beginning God . . . .” This first verse of the Word of God is the most important verse, because it is the foundation on which everything else is built. Please notice, in the text above, that God’s second act in creation was to provide light. Without light, we can have no vision. And, we need a 20/20 spiritual vision (Prov. 29:18). There can be no 20/20 vision without healthy eyes.

Without spiritual 20/20 vision our spiritual eyes are closed. When our eyes are closed, our lives remain “without form, and void” surrounded by darkness. Healthy eyes are opened eyes. For example, when the king of Syria sent horses and chariots, and a great host, to arrest Elisha. His servant could only see doom and destruction. But when 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. After the servant’s eyes were opened, he could clearly see that there were more horses and chariots of fire with them than a natural force with the Syrians (2 Kings 6:17). 20/20 spiritual vision makes for healthy eyes.

Naturally speaking, “normal vision” is 20/20, i.e., you can see the same line of letters at 20 feet away as a person with normal vision. Unhealthy vision is anything less than 20/20. E.g., 20/40 vision means that you can only see at 20 feet what a person with normal vision sees at 40 feet.  Some may be nearsighted (myopia) where they can clearly see things close to them. Others may be farsighted (hyperopic) where they can clearly see things at a distance. Spiritually, a nearsighted eye can only believe what has already been manifested—what it can touch, taste, feel, hear, or smell. And, spiritual farsightedness is when we are so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good; we can have a vision for the future but no reality of faith in the present. Both of these conditions are unhealthy because the eye of the mind doesn’t have the ability to “refract or focus” God’s light sharply enough; thus, the eye is considered unhealthy.

Jesus talked about the importance of healthy spiritual eyes in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:22-23). He reveled that the light of the body is the “eye”—the soul, the mind, emotions, the will and intellect. With our spiritual eyes, we see good things in the realm of the Spirit for the year 2020 and beyond. Because spiritual eyes are healthy, our whole body is full of light and fresh vision for this new season. But if our spiritual eyes are closed or blind, then God’s light cannot shine in our souls and we remain in the darkness of past seasons and past years.

So, for the year 2020, let us believe God that His light (John 1:9; 8:12) will come into our lives through our healthy eyes to give birth to a 20/20 vision. And, let us resolve to submit to God, to serve Him with gladness and joy, and to sow into His kingdom; and, do these things with faith, focus, and fearlessness; and, let us further resolve to believe and obey all things in God’s Word. The year 2020 is a new year, a new season, and a new opportunity to spiritually renew and reset with a 20/20 vision. Happy New Year!

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