I have seen it happen to others and laughed. Since it happened to me, it is not as funny. A short time ago, I was looking for my glasses. My vision is not yet opaque, but if I don't have my specs, reading is guess work. I rummaged through my bed side table, investigated the lazy boy chair and frisked every pocket of every coat. Nothing. I bellowed to my wife who looked at me with a smirk.
"Have you tried looking on your face?" Yes, I was wearing my glasses as I hunted for my glasses. (Don't snicker, it will happen to you too!) The irony of using the very thing I was looking for, as I looked for it was not lost on me. After my embarrassment faded I thought of Psalm 36.
The author reminds us that if we are looking for the Light of Truth, we find it by the very truth we are looking for. In other words, our quest for spiritual insight cannot be conducted outside of the enablement of His Spirit. C.S, Lewis paraphrased it this way, "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." He spoke of his spiritual quest as "looking along the beam of light” - not at it. What does this mean practically?
For one thing, it suggests that the way to understand spiritual matters is to experience them. Faith will not be understood from a distance by objective non-committal observations. To understand the Bible, read it. Insight about the church is gleaned as you participate in the community of faith. The only way to grasp prayer is to pray. We see truth by placing ourselves within the truth. There is no other way. We are completely dependent upon the grace of God to enlighten us. Without the mercy of God's enlightenment we are blind and deaf. We are feeling in the dark for our glasses without our glasses.
A second practically affects the way we invite others to the truth. Our appeals, arguments, or warnings seem to bounce off people. Remember, all without God are blind. They can't see what they can't see. Telling them to open their eyes is useless. They can't. But God can. God does. He opens the eyes of the blind by the glorious light of the gospel found in the radiance of Jesus. (2 Cor.3:6) In Jesus truth is found. In Jesus we see the love of God. In Jesus life takes form and shape that can be understood with the lens of eternity.
Maybe it's too close to lunch, but allow me to shift the metaphor from our eyes to our tongues. What's the best way to describe the taste of chocolate? The best way to discover chocolate is not by its recipe or description. Give someone a bite of chocolate and all explanations are superfluous. You know what it is by tasting what it is. So,"Taste and see that the Lord is good." Those who seek God will find God because He is shining their path to Himself.