Though one would never suspect it from a cursory glance at this photo-anemic blog, I am such a visual person. I have professed my love of design in a previous post and many other posts have been inspired by things that I have experienced with my eyes. I suspect that I am far from alone in this.
In spite of that, the circumstances of the last several years are reinforcing in me a greater understanding that my eyes can't always be trusted. I am learning how to really walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), like Abraham not to weaken in my faith due to the details (Romans 4:17), and to trust that "God gives life to things that were dead and calls things that are not as though there were." (Romans 4:19)
Many years ago, I heard a speaker on the radio give a definition of the word "fear" as "false evidence appearing real". (I remember it because it's succinct and a visually appealing acronymn.) I have found that fear is a favorite strategy of the enemy. He loves to illuminate circumstances and situations that loom in opposition to God's promises, attempt to shift the focus on those instead of our Heavenly Father, and allow the mental spiral that comes from losing real perspective to cause a riot in our minds. It reminds me of the art form known as "trompe l'oeil", which translates, "fools the eye." Every detail must be meticulously executed in a work of this genre to make it appear real. It's more than smoke and mirrors, but no matter how convincing the imitation, it's never what it appears to be.
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 2:5
