Opening Eyes by Joni Eareckson Tada

My wife forwarded this to me. Great reminder to cherish God's Word ...

Joni and Friends Daily Devotional
November 12, 2009
Opening Eyes

"Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the earsof the deaf
unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb
shout for joy"-- Isaiah 35:5-6

Dale stepped up to the pulpit and heaved onto it an incredibly large bookwith thick pages. As an elder lowered the microphone for him, Dale flipped toa section in the middle of the book. He adjusted his black glasses as if hecould see and began to read: "Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the kneesthat give way; say to those with fearful hearts, 'Be strong, do not fear;your God will come.'"

I immediately recognized the familiar passage from Isaiah 35. Dale's huge andcumbersome book was the Bible written in Braille. But not the entire Bible.The volume from which he read that morning represented only several booksfrom the Old Testament. He had left most of his Bible at home because hecouldn't carry the entire thing!

The blind man continued his reading, with his hands placed squarely on thepage and fingers constantly moving over the bumps and points. He read withfirm authority. Every once in a while he paused while his fingers encountereda staple in the page (his way of underlining a verse).

Dale looked so small behind the big book and the even bigger pulpit. But inmy eyes, he seemed so large. The Bible must be incredibly precious to Dale, seeing that it requires such effort to read it, to underline a verse, and to even cart it around! I glanced at my Bible on my lap. I knew, after that day, I would never look at it quite the same.

How precious is your Bible to you? Is it time for you to see the Bible afresh as the Word of God, a cherished communication from our heavenly Father? Read the entire chapter of Isaiah 35 today and relish in the truth and hope which is the Word of God.

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Heavenly Father, thank You that You loved us enough to reveal Yourself to usthrough the Word. Help me to read it with a fresh vision today.

Blessings,

Joni and Friends Taken from More Precious Than Silver.
Copyright © 1998 by Joni Eareckson Tada. Used by permission. Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530