See What I'm Saying?

See What I’m Saying?


Whenever we are presented with an image our eyes and mind automatically try to make sense of it. This happens naturally and it happens because of the way our minds have been trained. When we view a painting the first thing we want to ask is, “What is it?” or “What does this mean?” Somewhere in our life someone may have directed our attention to the sky and said, “See that sail boat in the ocean?” or “That looks just like a dinosaur”. There are times, though, when it would be good to have friends who simply say, “This really speaks to me. What do you see when you look at it?” This is an invitation to engage one another and an invitation to perceive the world around us differently.


When my oldest son presents a drawing of his to me I have learned that if I tell him what I see I will probably get it wrong which may or may not frustrate him depending on the day he is having. But if I kneel down, hold the colorful piece of paper and say, “This is beautiful Andrew. Tell me about it. What’s going on here?” I have a better chance of really connecting with him.


God approaches us in a similar way.


Revelation is invitation. Even when we haven’t fully unveiled the truth that is being presented to us it is an invitation. The very way in which God ushers revelation into our lives has everything to do with the communicative process. God, our Father, is quite intentional about His relationship with us. It is remarkable how much He has already initiated and continues to initiate; purposely interacting with His sons and daughters. For instance, God often ushers revelation into an individual’s life in a way that is shrouded. In the same way that an angler dangles a lure on his line to catch a fish the Father brings beautiful and brilliant images before our eyes to engage us. Sometimes we read His words. Other times we hear His words. But then there are times when we see His words. Through visions, impressions, signs and dreams God enables us to “see” His word; not to mention any physical and visual object around us that the Spirit chooses to use to teach us. Consider the following interactions with God:


To Jeremiah:

The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied. (Jeremiah 1:11)



To Amos:

And the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Amos?" "A plumb line," I replied. (Amos 7:8a)



To Zechariah:

He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide." (Zechariah 5:2)


With each of these men the Father showed them something and then asked them what they saw. They were seeing His Word. This adds a whole other dimension to the popular saying, ‘See what I’m sayin’?” When God spoke at the very beginning of our earth’s history His very words became light, seas, creatures, beasts, man. How powerful is His Word! How amazing His ability to create life simply by speaking!

It’s important that we capture the revelation. Our charge is to be good and wise stewards of the revelation God gives us.

Then the LORD replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. Habakkuk 2:2

It is good and beautiful to capture what is revealed by God through art, poetry, dance, film and more. The Lord has used Creation itself to clearly exhibit His eternal power and divine nature; invisible attributes that can be perceived nonetheless. So much so, in fact, that the Bible says that man is without excuse concerning the existence of God (Romans 1:20). You don’t have to understand God to believe in Him. You do not have to completely grasp the visual presentation in order to receive the message it is conveying. The signs and symbols around us are all invitations to a greater destination. The destination is Him and His will and His invitation still stands.


During our Equipping Night our friend Cynthia was praying. As she prayed she received an impression. She “saw” trees in the church; a small one, a medium one, a bigger one and then the biggest one. She asked the Lord, “What does this mean?” The Lord began to explain that the trees are people; individuals that my wife and I would disciple. She continued and explained that the people who would come through the doors of our Church to receive Christ would grow very fast in the Lord because of the Word that is going forth and the atmosphere that is set for the free reign of His Presence. She prophesied that this is why she saw trees from a small size to a large size; the trees represented their growth. She saw them as trees because of Psalm 1 and that they would be planted by rivers of living water.