THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2011
Life. How can you describe it except to say that it is a beautiful, amazing, frightening, maddening, complicated roller coaster ride. One moment it appears that everything is as it should be, that life couldn’t get any better than it is now. Inevitably, though there are bound to be some bumps in the road.
I have learned never to assume that things will stay the same. I have also learned that I can’t always believe what I think that I see.
Imagine building a house. That house represents everything that you have worked for or ever dreamed of. Then a tornado, utterly devastating, beats a path to your front door. Layer by layer, the house is torn to shreds. First the roof blows completely off. Windows shatter. Walls are flattened, and yet the destructive whirlwinds are not content just to destroy. No,no. They will not be satisfied until every last scrap has been picked up and carried far away. You are left defenseless, overwhelmingly exposed. The only certainty is that the tornado is about to swallow you alive. You hear the deafening roar of the wind. You feel the awesome power of the raging monster as it unleashes it’s fury upon you. But then……
You sense a strange calm. Without doubt, the storm is still there. All around you, the shattered bits of your once-impenetrable fortress are swirling. The tornado taunts, reminding you that in a split second it took away everything. And yet you find that you remain unharmed. It occurs to you that you are smack-dab in the center of the beast, in the eye of the storm, and yet you are safe. Things aren’t always as they appear….
1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
The fact of the matter is that what I see and what God sees are two completely different things. I have a limited perspective. I see what is right in front of me. God, on the other hand, is not bound by the same limitations. He sees the bigger picture. He already knows what is on the other side of whatever current obstacles that are blocking my view.
A friend of mine recently reminded me of the story of Joseph. Doting father. Jealous, hateful brothers. Sold into slavery by said brothers. Favored and appointed right-hand man of Potiphar. Falsely accused. Imprisoned. Interpreted dreams of Pharoah. Favored and appointed right-hand man of Pharoah. Dreams of a famine. Put a plan into action. Egypt spared from starvation. Brothers come to buy grain. Joseph reveals himself to said brothers. The slate is wiped clean. Brothers are re-united. Father’s broken heart mended. Blessed son is alive and well. God’s plan is accomplished. Beauty rises from the ashes.
I can’t trust my own vision. It is impaired and faulty. But I know One who sees better than 20/20. So, lead on, Father God. I will follow. Lead on.
POSTED BY KRISTIN AT 7:54 PM