Point of View

Just recently I had the opportunity to do some walking in the Scottish Highlands. The scenery was stunning and the weather was extremely good, it was wonderfully nurturing for the human spirit. One day we decided to climb a small hill which stood in splendid isolation and didn’t seem as if it would be too challenging. Alas, it was very challenging for some of us. I had to stop many times on the slippery gully that served as the route up and each time I stopped I turned around to admire the view.

Now it’s obvious that the view changed from the bottom of the hill to the summit, where there was a panoramic view of the whole area and out to sea. However what impressed me was how the view changed even after a few steps, (in reality I only managed about fifteen paces on the steep path before I needed another ‘moment to view the scenery’).

We know that the way God sees things is very different from the way we see things. He sits above the circle of the earth. From the hilltop the cars looked just like scurrying ants, and in the same way His view on our life is very different from our ground-level earthly view. He sees our problems as part of a big picture. Our problem is how do we get to that place to see His view on our issues?

We need to face a fact that this might involve a difficult and steep path. However, if we persevere and use physical time and spiritual energy, we will eventually be able to see things from His view point and not ours. Those distressing or impossible situations will progressively seem smaller and more manageable until we see them as He sees them, in the full picture of all things. We are already spiritually in Christ Jesus, seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) but perhaps as carnal people we often, in reality, find ourselves on that climb to achieve His viewpoint and we can only progress in our spiritual unfitness, step by step.

Prayer: Father, give us the stamina to keep walking towards Your view of the challenging issues of our lives. Lord, help us to notice when we’ve moved forward and our view has started to change, so we can be encouraged and re-inspired to keep going. Our goal, Lord, is to see things as You do, and find that place of peace which comes with knowing and recognising that all things are beneath Your feet, and you oversee all that happens in our lives. We pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.