God’s blessings are hard to see if I’m focusing on other things.

If I focus on my mistakes, I may not see my progress. If I focus on another person’s faults, I may not see how much value he or she adds to my life. If I focus on friendships I’ve lost, I may not see how many connections I’ve made. If I focus on what could happen tomorrow, I may not see how God is blessing me today.

Sometimes God’s blessings are hidden within plain sight, but I may need to adjust my vision so I can see them more clearly.

Recently an optical illusion allowed me to discover hidden things and see new possibilities. The first time I looked at the image, I saw the profile of an American Indian’s face. But after staring at it for a few seconds, the same image looked just like an Eskimo wearing a winter coat. Both images were hidden within plain sight; but I could see them both only because I stayed open and willing to accept new possibilities.

“Where’s Waldo,” a popular children’s book that challenges the reader to find a young, smiling character wearing a red and white hat and glasses, is a good way to practice searching for hidden things. I usually feel a mixture of frustration and anticipation while searching for Waldo, because he’s always hidden among other characters meant to distract me. But after I find him, I feel satisfied about my accomplishment.

Sometimes God’s blessings remain hidden in plain sight until I search for them in unusual places. That thought occurred to me after I found my lost keys hidden underneath the lining of my purse. I found what I was looking for only after I searched in a place I wouldn’t normally look.

The most memorable event that caused me to reflect on God’s hidden blessings was a beautiful sunrise. The sun appeared to be covered by night, until it slowly brightened and turned darkness into light. Watching the sunrise caused me to think of encouraging lyrics from one of my favorite gospel songs: “The darkest hour is just before the day. Don’t you be discouraged; don’t you be dismayed.”

Scripture tells me that if I call on the Lord in prayer, He will answer me and give me great and hidden things that I do not know. “I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name” (Isaiah 45:3).

Every good and perfect gift comes from God, and His greatest gift was Jesus Christ, Who is the Light of the world. If we ask Him, He will come into our hearts and make everything that is hidden come to the light so that we’ll never be the same.

Tonya Swindell writes a blog for www.inspirenewlife.org and a teacher for Kingdom Building Equipping School (KBES.com). She can be reached at 1brightot@gmail.com.