One of my favorite songs to sing to the Lord in my own personal time with Him is “Doves Eyes” by Tasha Cobbs Leonard. If you do not know this song, please go and download it. It will truly bless you. The lyrics always pierced my heart and invoked a change in my perspective on life.

I did a study on the dove’s vision and it truly brought the lyrics to life. I learned that dove’s do not have peripheral vision. They have binocular vision which means they can only see in front of them and to the side. This feature makes this bird species great hunters because they are able to hone in on their target with no distractions. This characteristic gives them great ability to focus on their prey and attack with precise accuracy.

This brings me to the story of the Israelites in the wilderness and their inability to focus on God but on the problem. If the Israelites focused on God and not their troubles or their past, their journey would have been an 11 day journey verses a 40 year journey (Deuteronomy 1:2-3). This shows me when we are not disciplined in our focus on God and his Word, we can miss the promise He has for us.

Setting your mind on God keeps you from doubt and unbelief. It is proven that whatever we see day by day eventually effects how we think. What we choose to entertain in our thought life, will eventually get in our hearts. Whatever we allow to dwell in our hearts, we will eventually speak. And we all know…life and death is in the power of your tongue (Proverbs 18:21). So what you set your sight on will either draw you to the promise or draw you to hopelessness and ultimately destruction.

When I mention “see” and “sight” I am not referring to just physical sight. Some may say well….I see my bills, sickness, lack, hurt, betrayal…How can I “see” anything else? Well, some translations of “see” or “look” in the bible actually means to perceive. The webster’s definition says the meaning of PERCEIVE is to attain awareness or understanding of. That means if you perceive it, you can obtain it.

So ask yourself this question. How do I perceive God in the midst of problems and challenges in my life? Do you see God as faithful and good? Do you see God as a good Father? Do you see Him as the Good Shepherd? Do you see Him as the One who never leaves or forsakes you? Do you see God as the same yesterday, today and forever? Do you see Him as your Provider? If you struggle with this (as I have in the past), pray for God to give you a heart to perceive, eyes to see and ears to hear in the Spirit no matter what is going on in this natural world. Declare over yourself that you will remain confident you will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). As the song says:

 “Give me undistracted devotion for only You.”