Imperceptible Reality: A Longing for Spiritual Vision

By Connie Bertelsen Young

The book, IMPERCEPTIBLE REALITY – A Longing for Spiritual Vision, is an adult Bible study that is meant to draw attention to the incredibly broad subject of who God is, our relationship to Him, and what He has created, particularly that which we can’t see with our physical eyes.

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV).

Since Adam and Eve, we have been ever learning and discovering more about life, and though our knowledge may seem extensive, it remains slight as we try to understand this universe, the scope of all living things, and the boundlessness of eternity.

“Even Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, indicated that “No one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV)

Although we can’t see everything, The truth which we are given in the Bible will help free us from blindness, deception and ignorance. In IMPERCEPTIBLE REALITY, A Longing for Spiritual Vision, there is emphasis on our great need for faith, growth, and awareness of the mysterious and magnificent immensity of God and our response to Him.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 2, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664249066

Connie Bertelsen Young

Connie’s Bible studies and short stories are also published in other books, magazines, and newspapers, and she was a newspaper columnist for seven years. We Are The Branches is her 7th book. Connie has worked as a church secretary, pianist and Bible study teacher. She was interviewed on several television channels when teaching a class for overcoming phobias. She and her husband have four children and ten grandchildren. Although Connie is semi-retired and works part time as a secretary for her husband’s construction business, she said that as long as she lives, she hopes to continue to write and work full time in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 Connie Bertelsen Young.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

WestBow Press

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ISBN: 978-1-6642-4905-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-4906-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 11/19/2021

Scripture marked (KJV) taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked (NKJV) taken from the New King

James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from THE MESSAGE,

copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission

of NavPress, represented by Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NASB) taken from the (NASB®)

New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971,

1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by

permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org

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Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978,

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Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy

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Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1 Imperceptible Reality

Chapter 2 God Is Here

Chapter 3 God Manifested

Chapter 4 Blindness

Chapter 5 Awakening

Chapter 6 Priorities

Chapter 7 Deception

Chapter 8 Light

Chapter 9 Anticipation

Chapter 10 Picturing God

Chapter 11 Lies

Chapter 12 Mystery

Chapter 13 Revelation

Chapter 14 Stupefying Vastness

Chapter 15 Simplicity

Chapter 16 Inescapable Conclusion

Afterword

Endnotes

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So we fix our eyes

not on what is seen,

but on what is unseen,

since what is seen is temporary,

but what is unseen is eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV)

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Books by Connie Bertelsen Young

Signs of The Time

Esprit De Corps

You’re Only Old Once

Heart Words

The House of You

Imperceptible Reality

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Dedication

To those who know there is more to see, more to be said, more to hear, more to feel, and more to learn than any human being can imagine, and to those who long with me for the Spirit of Truth and Revelation in order to know the Lord Jesus Christ more fully!

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Introduction

I chose the title, Imperceptible Reality to draw attention to the incredibly broad subject of who God is and what He has created, particularly that which we can’t see with our physical eyes. There is undeniably much reality that is imperceptible, and even though a miniscule portion is known by us, I think you’ll admit with me that human beings, corporately or individually, don’t see everything.

If someone actually believed they were so knowledgeable or wise enough to distinguish all that is real, I think they could be compared to a blind man who held one grain of sand in the palm of his hand, thinking he knew exactly what the immense beaches throughout the world were like, even though he never stepped foot on one. Or they could be compared to someone who never tasted a piece of fruit except for a single grape, thinking he knew the flavor of all fruit.

Pause to consider, if God is God, there must be much more than what we can fully grasp. Besides, who would want to worship a god who only knows what we know and has our limitations?

Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty? They are higher than the heavens above—what can you do? They are deeper than the depths below—what can you know? (Job 11:7-8 NIV).

Since Adam and Eve, we have been ever learning and discovering more about our world, and though our knowledge may seem extensive, it remains slight when contemplating the universe, the scope of all life, and the boundless content of eternity. Even Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, indicated the following:

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV).

Although we can’t see everything, The truth which we are given in the Bible will help free us from blindness, deception and ignorance. In the following chapters, I attempt to emphasize our great need for faith, growth, and awareness of the mysterious and magnificent immensity of God and our relationship to Him.

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:31:32 NLT).

I pray that as you read the words in this book and study God’s Word, you will experience enlightenment, through the Holy Spirit, for the Glory of God!

Connie Bertelsen Young

1

Imperceptible Reality

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Great is the

LORD

, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3 NASB).

When I had my eye exam this year, I was a little shocked to find out how much I couldn’t easily read on the eye chart, compared to the last time I took a vision test. I definitely needed a new prescription. Having good sight is really important to everyone’s life, but I’m sure there is more out there that we can’t see, than what we can see.

Some people have great sight, and they are more perceptive than others. There have been astoundingly brilliant scientists, doctors, leaders, prophets, and teachers in this world since Adam, but none of them have seen or understood all there is. This is true even for the geniuses who have scored over the 98th percentile and belong to the Mensa organization. Despite one’s intelligence quotient, vast mysteries remain to everyone. Countless things in this universe and beyond are still unidentified and indiscernible.

Throughout the course of time, we’ve experienced ever-increasing knowledge, found astonishing answers about our world, and observed remarkable things. We’ve explored our cosmos, accumulated considerable information, developed mind-boggling technology, discovered great things pertaining to our body, soul and spirit, and most importantly, received miraculous revelation through the Word of God. Yet, we see less than the tip of the iceberg.

But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:8 NKJV).

The Imperceptible Reality that I refer to herein particularly pertains to the reality of the spiritual world, although there’s plenty within the physical world that we have yet to explore or comprehend. In our impaired vision, we can only barely see the meaningfulness of who God is, or what He has accomplished - unbelievers and Christians included.

On the extreme side, those who claim to be atheists may unbendingly say There is no god. In making that statement, they are indicating that they know everything, and that there cannot be anything greater than what they think they’ve seen. But the Bible teaches they should not depend on that.

Trust in the

LORD

with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-8 NASB).

Still, it is fair to say that even those of us who dogmatically embrace our beliefs in God and the Cross of Christ, find the spiritual world bewildering, and if we’re honest, are often unconscious of its certainty. One instance of this, is that we rarely even consider the authenticity of the angels that are all around us. (See Psalm 91:11.)

A.W. Tozer epitomized the problem. Our trouble is that we have established bad thought habits. We habitually think of the visible world as real and doubt the reality of any other. ¹ We miss what is eternal and invisible because we’ve become over-stimulated, distracted and desensitized by what we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell. That which is eternal and invisible is often disregarded. Unbelievers are particularly insensitive to those things. The Apostle, Paul, gave us a clue with the following words:

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV).

Paul was speaking about those who don’t have the Spirit within them. He made it clear that we need the Holy Spirit to understand spiritual things, and to be made aware of the spiritual kingdom all around us. Receiving Christ as Savior and being