Tuesday, May 29, 2007
THE FATHER'S VIEW
The following was written by Steve Troxel of God's Daily Word Ministries. I found the analgoy he draws to be quite interesting.
In the message "Cut The Lifeboats" we were encouraged to cut away those areas of our life which still cling to the world's answers for fulfillment and security - those areas which keep our hearts from being fully devoted to God. But at the same time, we acknowledged this can be a difficult process. One reason for this difficulty is our extremely limited view of our life and the world around us.
Our flawed perception is not unlike a tiny ant. These small creatures seem to never stop working as they scurry about frantically moving little grains of sand from here to there in the hope of building a secure home. If we could ask an ant to describe his world, he might tell us about his hole in the ground, about the few thousand members of his family, and maybe something about the few surrounding meters where he gathers food. Obviously, the ant has a very limited view of the real world.
But as our Heavenly Father watches us build our homes of security - watches us frantically moving from here to there, trying to climb to the top of the hill - He also sees a creation with a VERY limited view of the real world; "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts"
(Isaiah 55:9).
As seen from God's perspective, we have almost no understanding of how the little corner of our life fits into His plan or how our current problems are leading us closer to Him. From God's perspective our view is as limited as the ant. But, though we may not fully see or understand, He is calling us to trust.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Many of us are facing difficult circumstances. We want to walk along God's path and live a life pleasing to Him, but we're not sure which direction to turn. Our indecision is often because we only trust in what we clearly understand - and we've begun to realize our understanding is not very clear. But God's promise is that as we love and trust Him with all our heart, the path directly in front of us will become straight - as we trust, the decisions will become clear and we will KNOW our next step!
We must truly believe that our Heavenly Father sees and hears ALL, and that He's infinitely complete in understanding. Where we are fortunate to see a few short steps down the path, He sees the entire journey - the journey leading us "to be conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29), and the destination of spending all eternity praising His name. We must keep stepping out in faith, but we must do so by leaning on Him, continually seeking His direction, and trusting the Father's view.
In the message "Cut The Lifeboats" we were encouraged to cut away those areas of our life which still cling to the world's answers for fulfillment and security - those areas which keep our hearts from being fully devoted to God. But at the same time, we acknowledged this can be a difficult process. One reason for this difficulty is our extremely limited view of our life and the world around us.
Our flawed perception is not unlike a tiny ant. These small creatures seem to never stop working as they scurry about frantically moving little grains of sand from here to there in the hope of building a secure home. If we could ask an ant to describe his world, he might tell us about his hole in the ground, about the few thousand members of his family, and maybe something about the few surrounding meters where he gathers food. Obviously, the ant has a very limited view of the real world.
But as our Heavenly Father watches us build our homes of security - watches us frantically moving from here to there, trying to climb to the top of the hill - He also sees a creation with a VERY limited view of the real world; "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts"
(Isaiah 55:9).
As seen from God's perspective, we have almost no understanding of how the little corner of our life fits into His plan or how our current problems are leading us closer to Him. From God's perspective our view is as limited as the ant. But, though we may not fully see or understand, He is calling us to trust.
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Many of us are facing difficult circumstances. We want to walk along God's path and live a life pleasing to Him, but we're not sure which direction to turn. Our indecision is often because we only trust in what we clearly understand - and we've begun to realize our understanding is not very clear. But God's promise is that as we love and trust Him with all our heart, the path directly in front of us will become straight - as we trust, the decisions will become clear and we will KNOW our next step!
We must truly believe that our Heavenly Father sees and hears ALL, and that He's infinitely complete in understanding. Where we are fortunate to see a few short steps down the path, He sees the entire journey - the journey leading us "to be conformed to the likeness of His Son" (Romans 8:29), and the destination of spending all eternity praising His name. We must keep stepping out in faith, but we must do so by leaning on Him, continually seeking His direction, and trusting the Father's view.
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