1 SAMUEL 19

As I read this chapter, I couldn’t help but think about how absolutely blind Saul was—especially as we got down to the very end. David had fled to Ramah (where Samuel was), and Saul sent a group of men to capture him and bring him back for execution. But, the first group of men got to Ramah and got sidetracked by God’s Spirit. So Saul sent a second group of men to capture David, and they also got detoured by the Spirit. Saul sent a third group of men to get David, and they too were held up by the Spirit.

Finally, Saul had had enough of other men failing at his job, so he went to get David himself. And even he got caught up by the Spirit of the Lord and was completely unable to accomplish his goal. By this time, how could Saul have possibly not known that David was under God’s direct protection? How could he have been so blind?

Ah, the power of the sinful human heart.

Last week, I read the story of Jesus healing the man born blind in Mark, chapter 8. In order to cure his blindness, Jesus simply spit on the man’s eyes and placed his hands on them. "Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly." (Mk 8:25)

Physical blindness is so easy for God to cure. But spiritual blindness is impossible for God to cure without our consent. God could cure the man in Mark 8, but He couldn’t cure Saul as long as Saul continued to persist in his rebellion. And the same is true for us. God can cure every kind of blindness except the kind we willingly and persistently hold onto.

What incredible things it says about God that His power is exercised in such a way as to be limited by the choices we make. He truly values nothing more than our freedom, and if we are hell-bent on staying blind, He won’t cure us against our will.