Don't decide with your eyes or ears.

We are talking about not evaluating situations only by what your eyes see and ears hear.

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Ephesians 5:21 “Submit to one another in the fear of Christ.”

Isaiah 11:3 “(Messiah) will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear.”

In the fear of Jesus means Jesus first in every decision. When evaluating a relationship, you shouldn’t lean only on what your eyes see. You judge unfairly if you only use your eyes. The fear of the Lord is when you pursue Jesus’ truth first. Jesus knows more than just what your eyes see.

Story: A boy, a rock and a Mexican pastor. An angry boy threw a big rock over a block wall. The vbs program was in the courtyard. A youth group from Kansas or Nebraska, I can’t remember which state, had come to Mexicali, Mexico, to work in partnership with a small Mexican church in their community. The rock hit the Mexican pastor on the side of his head right on the temple. He immediately was blind. The church members rushed the Mexican pastor to the hospital, but the doctors determined there was nothing they could do. They said he might be blind the rest of his life. they didn’t know. The youth pastor heard from the Mexican church members that the boy who threw the rock lived next door, and they thought he was demon possessed! The youth paster didn’t know what to do, so he thought to ask for help. I worked in the Mexico outreach program at Azusa Pacific University. I just happened to be at the facility in Mexicali when the youth pastor drove back to ask for help. He said, “Bob, help us… our pastor is blind and a demon possessed boy hurled the rock.” As I drove and followed the youth pastor back to the Mexican church where all of this event occurred I prayed. “Jesus is this boy demon possessed?” I heard in my mind a clear “no”. “Jesus, why did the boy throw the rock?” I heard in my mind, “The boy is jealous of the kids playing having fun while he is forced to stay home to be beaten by his father almost every day. The boy’s only friend is the Mexican pastor.” When we arrived the Mexican pastor’s eye sight had already returned. Some would say it was a miracle. I asked if I could meet the boy who threw the rock and the Mexican pastor.

I said, “The Lord Jesus told me you’re not demon possessed. I heard the thought that you are being beaten by your father and you hate your life, is that true?” The boy began to cry with great intensity. He felt so guilty that he had thrown the rock and accidentally hit the only friend he had. His jealousy and anger were gone and only a broken humble middle schooler stood in front of us. I said, “You weren’t trying to hit the pastor because he is the only friend you have, right?” The boy cried even harder. The Mexican pastor moved toward him and put his arm around him and cried with him, and spoke softly to him, and said, “I forgive you. I’m still your friend.”

On the outside our eyes might have decided the boy was demon possessed, but Jesus knows what is happening on the inside. How did I know my thoughts were from Jesus? I knew for sure when my thoughts were confirmed by the boy and the Mexican pastor. It’s important to test your thoughts and confirm them before declaring that someone is demon possessed or getting beaten by their father.

Should you use only your ears to make up your mind about something? You judge unfairly if you only use your ears. The fear of the Lord is when you pursue Jesus’ truth first. Jesus knows more than just what your ears hear.

Story: my sister said she wanted to kill herself. Things were really tough in high school for my sister. My brother called me. Daniel said, “Sis said she felt like killing herself.” We talked and I said I would call her. Before I called I prayed. “Jesus what is really going on?” I heard in my mind, “She doesn’t really want to kill herself. She is hurting and trying to express the profound pain she feels.”

The words that she spoke express the idea of suicide, but our ears only hear part of the story. I called sis knowing that there was more to the story. “Sis, you didn’t really want to kill yourself, did you? you were just expressing how deeply you were hurting, right?” What I had heard from the Lord Jesus was true. She wasn’t suicidal at all. There is always more to each story and Jesus knows all of it.

Just to make sure you didn’t think I was the great supportive brother at that time, I’m including this. My sister and I weren’t really close until years later when the Holy Spirit brought us closer. I’m so thankful for the mercy of the Lord to change relationships and for my sister’s forgiveness.

Prayer coaching: “Jesus my desire is to see the truth in my current situation. I don’t want to let my eyes and ears distract me from the whole truth. Make it clear to me what is really going on so that burdens can be lifted.”