Sacred Disorientation: When Losing Your Way Leads to Growth
October 29, 2024 Daily Lectionary Texts
Psalm 119:17-24; 2 Kings 6:8-23; Acts 9:32-35
We often think of spiritual growth as a steady upward climb - each step building naturally on the last. But what if some of our most profound moments of transformation come through disorientation? When everything we thought we knew gets turned upside down?
There's this fascinating story in 2 Kings 6 that plays with themes of sight, blindness, and perspective. The prophet Elisha and his servant find themselves surrounded by an enemy army. The servant panics, but Elisha prays for his eyes to be opened to see reality as it truly is - they're actually surrounded by God's supernatural forces. Then, in an ironic twist, Elisha asks God to temporarily blind their enemies with divine light. In their disorientation, Elisha leads them straight into Israel's capital city. When their sight returns, this moment of blindness and confusion actually leads to lasting peace between the nations.
We see this pattern elsewhere in Scripture too. Think of Paul on the Damascus Road - his encounter with the divine literally blinds him. His whole worldview gets shattered before it can be rebuilt into something new.
Too often we treat disorientation as a warning sign, evidence that we've gone off track. But what if those moments when life feels most scrambled are actually invitations to profound transformation? Perhaps being temporarily lost is sometimes exactly where we need to be to find our way forward.
The next time you feel spiritually discombobulated, consider this: maybe you're not lost. Maybe you're just being prepared to see with new eyes.
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