It Is Already Happening (Part 2)

It Is Already Happening (Part 2)

By Steve Backlund

Looking for Gold, Not Dirt

Wendy and I were senior leaders in Central Nevada in the 1990s. We lived in a town that had a massive open-pit gold mine. Hundreds of tons of dirt were moved every day, but the workers were not fixated on dirt. Their focus was the gold hidden within it.

As we observed this, we realized it was a powerful picture for leadership and relationships. We made a decision that we would become gold finders, not dirt inspectors.

In doing this, we discovered something important. People generally did not mind us moving their dirt if they knew we believed there was gold in them.

This “looking for the gold” connects deeply to Jesus' words in John 4: “Lift up your eyes . . . the fields are already white for harvest.”

The disciples saw ordinary people. Jesus saw harvest. The disciples saw process. Jesus saw fulfillment. The disciples saw what was. Jesus saw what was becoming.

People of hope see what others overlook.

Great Influencers See Potential

Great influencers see people according to their potential, not merely according to their current struggles or past failures.

In Judges 6, an angel saw gold in a depressed and fearful Gideon and called him a mighty man of valor. Jesus saw gold in twelve men whom experts would have overlooked. David saw gold in 400 people plagued by debt, distress, and discontent. Those “3D people” eventually became mighty men (1 Samuel 22:2; 2 Samuel 23).

The Kingdom advances through people who recognize gold before full manifestation appears. One of the great fruits of hope is the ability to see what Heaven sees before others can see it.

Seeing Gold in Ourselves

Many believers recognize potential in others but struggle to see it in themselves. We primarily notice what is unfinished, where we are failing, or how far we still have to go. In doing so, we often overlook genuine growth, healing, increased maturity, victories over old mindsets, and a growing hunger for God.

Psychology calls this confirmation bias—the tendency to notice evidence that confirms what we already believe. If I believe I am not growing, I will naturally focus on evidence supporting that conclusion while overlooking evidence of transformation.

Heaven does not relate to us according to our dirt. Heaven sees identity, potential, growth, and becoming. One of the signs of renewed thinking is that we increasingly notice what God is doing in us, not merely what remains unfinished.

Our transformation is most likely further along than you think. It is already happening.

Elisha's Servant Could Not See What Was Already There

In 2 Kings 6, Elisha and his servant woke up to what appeared to be a hopeless situation. An enemy army had surrounded the city during the night, and when the servant looked out and saw the horses and chariots encircling them, fear immediately gripped his heart. He cried out, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). Everything he could see with his natural eyes told him they were trapped, outnumbered, and vulnerable.

Elisha, however, was looking at the same situation through a completely different lens. He calmly responded, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Imagine hearing that statement while staring at a hostile army. To the servant, Elisha's words must have seemed disconnected from reality. Yet Elisha was not denying reality—he was seeing a greater reality.

Then Elisha prayed a simple prayer: “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” Immediately the servant's perspective changed. He saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha. He saw “it” was already happening. 

What fascinates me about this story is that the heavenly army was not created after Elisha prayed. God did not suddenly send reinforcements because the servant became afraid. The horses and chariots of fire were already there. The servant's problem was not the absence of God's provision. His problem was an inability to perceive what already existed.

We all face this same challenge. We look at our families, finances, churches, emotional health, cities, or culture and conclude that little is happening. We see obstacles, delays, resistance, and problems. Meanwhile, Heaven is saying, “Lift up your eyes.” Fear has a way of magnifying visible threats until they seem bigger than God's activity. Hope does the opposite. Hope recognizes that God is working even when His work is not yet fully visible.

The servant saw what surrounded him naturally. Elisha saw what surrounded him spiritually. One was overwhelmed by the problem. The other was aware that Heaven had already surrounded the problem before the problem ever appeared. I believe this is one of the great results of having our hope ignited. We see beyond what is immediately visible and recognize that God's activity is often much greater than we first realize.

If We Believe It Is Happening, We Will See It Happening

There is another powerful principle connected to all of this. We tend to notice what we believe already exists.

If we believe there is a solution, we are much more likely to recognize solutions. If we believe God is moving, we will begin noticing where He is moving. If we believe breakthrough is happening, we will be more apt to recognize signs of breakthrough that others overlook.

The opposite is also true. When we become convinced there is no solution, we frequently miss solutions that are already present. When we believe nothing is happening, we overlook evidence that something is happening. This is one reason hope is so important. Hope does not create reality; hope helps us recognize reality.

Isaiah 60 provides a beautiful example of this principle. The chapter begins with darkness covering the earth, yet God immediately tells His people to “lift up your eyes and look around” (verse 4). Before God described the blessing, He first instructed them to look. He wanted them to recognize what He was already gathering and assembling around them. The issue was not God's inactivity. The issue was their perception. They needed to see differently.

This is why two people can walk into the exact same environment and come away with entirely different conclusions. One sees problems while another sees possibilities. One sees dirt while another sees gold. One sees resistance while another sees opportunity. Neither person is necessarily denying reality. They are simply focusing on different aspects of reality.

People of hope are not pretending difficulties do not exist. They simply believe that God is working in the middle of those difficulties. Because of that belief, they become skilled at recognizing beginnings, movement, openness, hunger, and signs of life. They notice what Heaven is doing before full manifestation appears.

Final Thought

Jesus said: “Lift up your eyes and see” in John 4:35. He is still saying that today concerning our lives, our families, other people, our churches, our cities, and especially the spirit realm itself. He is telling us, “it is already happening in these places.”

• Our families are further along than we thought

• Prayers are being answered more than we can see

• Our minds are renewing more than we have believed

• There is gold where we thought there was only dirt

• Armies of angels are already present to fight for us

  
  

The more our hope grows, the more we will see. Truly, it is already happening.

Declarations: 

1. God is doing more in my life, family, church, and city than I currently realize, and I am growing in my ability to see it.

2. I see evidence of God's activity everywhere I go because I believe He is always working.

3. I partner with what God is doing instead of being distracted by what is not yet complete.

4. I have the eyes of Elisha rather than the eyes of fear. I see Heaven's resources surrounding every challenge.

5. I lift up my eyes and see harvest, potential, solutions, and God's goodness wherever He sends me.