Are things always face value?

The hand is not really quicker than the eye. The skill of the magician is in getting an audience to focus its attention where he wants it at a specific instant. The success of magic lies in the ability to create illusions that have the appearance of reality. Let’s give it a try. Notice the picture to the right. Focus on it

What do you see? Do you see a face? Do you see the word Liar? Sometimes we want to believe in a person and yet the very signs are there that indicate the true identity of the person. What we choose to see can also become an illusion hiding the obvious. We must keep our eyes open and watch for the illusions in our life. This will help make better decisions as we walk life’s road.

For thousands of years it was believed that magicians or sorcerers were able, by use of supernatural powers, to gain control over natural forces. Magic was, therefore, closely allied with religion. A king’s personal magicians were supposedly able to make it rain, ward off enemies, prevent and cure diseases, cast spells on invading armies, and most significantly, to gain the favor of their gods.

There are ancient Egyptian records giving details of magical performances before Pharaoh Cheops, who died about 2494 BC. Later, in the Middle Ages, magicians were caught up in condemnations of witches, sorcerers, and devil worshipers. They were often jailed and sometimes executed. Not until the Renaissance did it become possible for traveling entertainers, such as jugglers and other wonder workers, to perform before royalty, nobility, and even bishops, if not always for the public. By the 16th century, there were professional magicians doing card tricks, reading minds, and making objects disappear. Illusions are misleading images presented to the vision or intellect. Assumptions can be made based off of what the individual believes he sees or hears.

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:26-28).

Sometimes when we pray, we feel our prayers need to be answered in a certain manner. In our lives events take place that appear a certain way and yet in reality they really aren’t as we see them. We only see what we want to see because of our perception of life. We can’t or don’t want to focus on what God has provided for us. We get angry when things don’t appear to go our way. We get upset when something doesn’t happen when we want it too. We question our very existence when things go wrong. Then comes the illusion of the loss of confidence and peace.

The very real neglect of prayer and reading of the scriptures starts and soon Satan overcomes many. “That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12).

What we put into our heart is how we are going to think, how we will perceive things. “And He was saying, ‘That which proceeds out of the man, that is what “defiles the man.” For from within, out of the hearts of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.’” (Mark 7:20-22).

If we fill our minds with the illusions of every day life, it will give us a false hope of security and bring to our lives no control, but madness. It is because we can not figure out why things happen they way the do. Ever get amazed and then frustrated at a magical trick and you can’t for the life of you figure out how the magician performed his trick? When we fill our minds with Christ, it brings the reality of peace.

Do you want a life of illusion that creates a little happiness of the here and now with the pleasures of this life? Or do you want the security and peace of having Christ permanently in your life for eternity? When we pray, the Spirit knows our desires more than we know. We may pray for something we think we might need, yet the Spirit will intercede and give to us what we really need. The next time something happens in your life, pause and reflect for a moment. Let God guide you and don’t try to figure out what He is doing.

Give all to God in prayer and believe in His power. Christ did die, was buried, and was raised for us to have life eternal. This is no illusion. The illusion is when we want to do what Satan desires us to believe in and we choose a life of pleasure instead a life of peace. What is the illusion in your life that is causing you to be hindered from seeing Christ?