When God opens your eyes

pharmacy

Many times we miss opportunities because we don’t see them. Of course, you may look at something but not actually see it. Someone may actually see an opportunity but may not take advantage of it. But blessed is the one who takes the appropriate action. I love Psalms 119:18 which says, “Open my eyes, that I may see wonderful things from your law” (NKJV). This implies that you can read the letter of the Word of God without the Spirit giving you the meaning.

The story of Prophet Elisha and his servant (in 2 Kings 6) is instructive.  The king of Syria had besieged Dothan, where Elisha was staying, with horses, chariots and a great army. When Elisha’s servant got up early in the morning and noticed that the city was surrounded by horses and chariots, he got alarmed and cried. But Elisha assured him that the army with them was greater than that of Syria.  Elisha then prayed, “Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.” And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, making him see the horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. The prayer for opening one’s eyes is one we all need. And it is only God that can open your eyes to what other people do not see.

In your business, you need your eyes to be opened to understand certain things concerning what you do. Businesses prosper when God opens your eyes to know how He wants you to do it. You need insight on how to do your business. In Ephesians 1:18 Apostle Paul prays that the eyes of our understanding may be enlightened. Some years ago, I needed to undergo eye surgery because illumination of my eyes had been reduced by cataracts. Immediately the cataracts were removed, a lot of light flooded into my eyes and I realised what I had been missing.

I love the story of Hagar, Abraham’s Egyptian maid, who gave birth to Ishmael. At the instance of Sarah and with the approval of God, Abraham expelled Hagar and the little Ishmael into the wilderness with very little provisions. When the water finished, the little boy was crying and dying of dehydration. Hagar could not bear the sight of her son dying in her hands. So, she left him under a shrub, turned her eyes away and cried bitterly. God responded to the cry of the baby and asked Hagar to go pick up and comfort her child. Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water, and she filled the bottle with water, and gave her son to drink. All along the well was there but Hagar did not see it because her eyes were not yet opened. Opportunities are around you but until God opens your eyes, you may not see them.

In 1978, I planned to resign my appointment as marketing manager of a pharmaceutical company because of the attitude of my boss. It was later that I realised that God only used him as an instrument to move me out of my comfort zone. I spent a lot of time just thinking of what else to do. At that time, I didn’t know what it meant to commit one’s plans to God in prayer.  I was only giving very serious thought to my future. I did not actually pray about what God wanted me to do but I knew that He directed me. He simply opened my eyes to see a glimpse of my future in pharmaceutical journalism and science editing. It was like a vision and I quickly wrote everything He revealed to me.

When we resumed work in January 1979, I went to my boss and told him that I had decided to resign. He asked me, “Are you going to Pfizer? “No”, I replied. “Glaxo”? “No, I just want to start publishing a pharmaceutical newspaper” I replied. He burst into derisive laughter because he could not see what God had opened my eyes to see. Then he asked me “What will you be doing to take care of yourself and family while publishing the newspaper?  He believed that I would not succeed.

Even though God showed me the direction I was to go, it was later that He gave me a clearer view. In 1984 I was invited to Copenhagen, Denmark, to participate in a World Health Organisation (WHO)-sponsored training programme for health editors. The training exposed me to world-renowned biomedical journal editors. Also I registered as a member of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) and International Federation of Science Editors (IFSE). Attending annual conferences and seminars of EASE and IFSE opened my eyes to the world of science editing.

In 1992 I was again invited by the WHO to Geneva, Switzerland, as a consultant on the provision and dissemination of drug information. The week-long sharing of knowledge and experience with other consultants opened my eyes to the opportunity of training in the health care system. Consequently, in 1993 we started training with the cooperation of WHO and International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (IFPMA), also based in Geneva.