“Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. Who is blind, but my servant? Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant? Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.”(Isaiah 42:18-20).

As Christians we have to be very sensitive to our environment and ensure that people do not exploit us as a result of our nonchalance or lack of discernment.

Today, many people suffer from a problem psychologist call “normalcy bias”. It is a situation where people ignore unsettling circumstances around them and shut down as though it were normal. They shut down and pretend that everything is just as okay as always. Some other people have what is referred to as “motivation blindness”. It is a situation where people are concerned with only seeing things that interest them. They ignore every other activity because their mind is programmed in a way that it only recognises those things that are of major interest to them. Every other thing is unconsciously avoided or relegated to the background. And such minds somehow grasp the restrictions people mount and so put up a protective filter which stirs awareness away from any other kind.

The behavioural patterns described above is called self-deception. People indulge in them when they do not want to face the truth. They simply get on ‘switch off mode’ except to that which interest them. Their aim is to suppress any issue that is challenging. This is however not peculiar to our generation alone. In centuries past, people built moral systems that acknowledged the presence of moral weakness and how through discipline, they overcame those weaknesses.

Our environment is full of different signals but there are some signals that we need to take cognisance of. God is willing to show us all we need to know if we would ask Him questions. He answers in the most profound way. There is a season of response for every challenge we face. When you face challenges, seek the face of the Lord on the matter and declare His grace over all that concerns you.

Observe situations, monitor signals. Be sensitive. Many times, God wants to open our eyes to see things from His own perspective. Ask for His grace to discern issues rightly. God can speak to us using anything within our environment. For this reason, when things happen, we should look deep and not just see them from a pedestal standpoint. Let’s pay attention and listen for God is always speaking and instructing us through our environment.

“Poju Oyemade”