That’s how I would describe one of my prayer walk partners and friends – insightful. There are other adjectives I could use as well, caring, funny, smart – but if I had to pick two that stand out? that would be courageous and persistent – both hugely important assets in life, both particularly necessary attributes for my prayer walking friend. I admire his persistent pursuit of Jesus, perhaps because I too am running that life race. And running that race requires courage and endurance. The apostle Paul advises us –

“Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

So we are prayer walking and running this race together, he and I, and others with us. Now as I said, running this life race requires of us the utmost courage and endurance. But I think even more is required of my friend and he has shown himself equal to the task. You see, dear readers, there is something I have thus far neglected to tell you about my friend. Probably because it is not the most relevant nor important thing about him, still it is something – something worth mentioning. My very insightful friend is blind. (pun and irony fully intended)

My friend, like the apostle Paul, has a “thorn in the flesh” to bear in this life. However, Paul’s thorn in the flesh, which God chose not to remove, did not disqualify nor deter Paul in any way from his calling in Christ. Paul carried out all that God gave him to do, sharing the Gospel, visiting churches, writing letters from prison, suffering for Christ – his thorn did not prevent him from submitting to God’s will for his life and in so doing, Paul lived out the life of purpose and meaning that God had planned for him.

I pray my prayer walking friend is finding this to be true for himself as well. His lack of physical sight in no way disqualifies or prevents him from finding his calling in Christ and from living it out. I feel like I’m still trying to find my way and my calling, and I have physical sight. But it is spiritual sight that is needed, spiritual sight that is essential actually to live this life in a Christ honoring way. After all, we are told –

“We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

My friend has learned this skill out of necessity perhaps, so he has a head start on the rest of us – BUT – walking by faith alone is an essential life skill that each of us must master at some point in our Christ following journey. Better sooner than later. You and I think sight so important, so necessary to our earthly lives – BUT consider this truth –

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Again, my friend is ahead of the game. Not distracted by temporary “seen” things now, he is freed up to focus or to “fix his eyes” on what is unseen, what none of us can see, but what all of us need to focus on – the eternal things of God, those things that matter most in the end. This is my prayer –

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” (Psalm 119:18)

Again what matters is spiritual sight, rather than physical sight. It’s what Paul prayed for the Ephesians –

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Our culture may consider physical blindness a handicap, something that renders one weaker or at a disadvantage – BUT – the Lord said to Paul, when Paul asked to be healed –

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s response? whining, complaining, anger, giving up, running away, despair? No, Paul’s response to God’s refusal was this –

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

Surprising maybe BUT – we know what God did with Paul’s handicapped, surrendered life! a lot! Reminds me of a modern day Christ follower, Joni Erickson Tada. She has served God her whole life, accomplished much for others and for the kingdom, all from the confines of a wheelchair. Some would call her handicapped, but her life says otherwise – it has been rich, full of purpose and accomplishment, more than most for sure. This is a reminder to me that –

“with God all things are possible.” (Matthew 19:26)

I see the evidence of this truth in my insightful friend’s life. It takes courage and persistence for him to show up each day and navigate life’s challenges without physical sight. But he does and this must give inspiration and hope to others that they too can overcome the challenges that they face in their lives and be victorious. I am inspired by my insightful friend, remembering this truth from God’s word –

“I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

There may be those who watch my insightful friend walking down the street with his rod out in front of him and wonder why? Jesus disciples asked the same question of Jesus once. This is how that conversation went –

“As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.’ ” (John 9:1-3)

Such is the case with my insightful friend. His physical blindness creates in him a dependence on God, which allows the work of God to be displayed clearly in his life for all to see and for God to be glorified. God has given him inward sight in full measure, hence the term “insightful” seems an apt description for him. When he talks with others, he is able to listen to them, without being distracted by physical appearances. He “sees” others as they truly are simply by listening to them. Just maybe, it’s a little easier to listen to God’s voice too, without all the visual distractions of the world?

Someone told my friend that blindness was the hardest handicap to live with. I don’t know if that’s true or not. What I do know is that my friend doesn’t walk in darkness nor alone. Jesus made that clear when He said –

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

My friend may be blind, but he sees with the sight that we all long to receive from God – the sight the hymn talks about – “I once was blind but now I see.” Paul (then Saul) was made blind as he journeyed on the road to Damascus. The result? Paul was at last able to see clearly who Jesus really was. It changed his life forever. Sometimes we have to lose something of lesser value in order to gain something of greater value.

I know my insightful friend sees with the eyes that count, the eyes of the heart, the eyes of faith. He walks like I want to – by faith and not by sight. Sometimes when you have sight, it’s too easy to forget the faith part and rely solely on sight, therefore on self. My friend doesn’t have that option – he walks by faith twenty-four/seven. After all, what we need to see, can’t be seen with human eyes anyway.

“So we fix our eyes . . . on what is unseen. . . . what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

sincerely, Grace Day