Keeping it in perspective

Zoom by Istvan Banyai was shared with the congregation.

As we make our Way through this children’s book it is amazing how our perspective changes as we gain knowledge.  Nothing is truly how it appears.  As a child our point of view is very narrow and self-focused.  It’s all about ME!  As we grow in our knowledge and experience that image begins to encompass more people- our family, friends, and then grows to our community, state, country and for some it will eventually be global. 

But even the smartest, well- traveled, well educated, people still have a very limited view of the world.  

It is impossible to see and know what God sees and knows.

We often quote scripture like Jeremiah 29:11 as a verse of comfort and encouragement “’ For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  And while this is true it is not just about us as individuals.  This passage was intended not to encourage individuals but meant as an encouragement for a nation that after 70 years of exile would finally be able to come home to this prosperous future God had planned for them.  It is intended to offer hope to people in despair but maybe not to individuals.

God’s intention is not for us as individuals to have a life that is fun, carefree and full of wealth and riches but it is for us to be fulfilled in Him!  The plan for God is much larger than our wants and our needs.  We just can’t always see the bigger picture. 

As we read the Bible we repeatedly see the people with the deepest faith and most connection with God suffer the most.

Hebrews 11 gives us a quick glimpse into the history of some of those people.

These, our ancestors, and those since are part of God’s plan.  They were loved by God but to most everyone else’s standards- they should have been miserable and crying out to God begging him to make it stop! But they were people of great faith because they believed in God, trusted in him, and were able to see that they were part of something bigger than their current circumstances. 

God is too great to fit in any box we create to put him in.  As soon as we think we have him figured out we learn something new or he changes our perspective to see things in a different way.  We as humans usually suffer from being able to see from only one vantage point.  We either can’t see the forest for the trees or we can’t see the individual trees because we’re too focused on the forest.

God is able to have it all- God is able in one moment to not only keep the world turning and this plan for the future of every generation from the beginning of time to the end but is also hearing our prayers, concerned about our daily lives, caring for us, providing for us, loving us.  He knows every star in the sky and every grain of sand on the beach.  He sees each one of us, knows each one of us by name!

Jeremiah 1:5 tells us “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

What an awesome God we worship and Serve!  He is the God of the past, present and future- isn’t it amazing to know that God knows each child even before they are born and knows not only the past but also knows what the generations to come will be like.

We have hope in a God who loves us, a God who does have a plan.  This world is not chaos and haphazard and even when it feels like our plans are not working out as we would like- we can trust that as long as we have a heart for God and a desire to live our lives fully with him, we are part of that plan and God is using us for the betterment of and fulfillment of his promises to us.  He hears our prayers, he knows what we need in this life and he knows how to give us a peak at the future that waits for us.  Even in the darkest days in Him we can see the light of a better tomorrow and rewards that are greater than we can ever imagine.