I think that a major problem with the human condition is… vision. How we see ourselves- ie. Self- image, God- spiritual vision, others- social vision, circumstances, pain, suffering, injustice, apathy and time – past, present and future.
Of course, I’m sure you can think of others to add to my list. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list but a starting point for what God is showing me. A springboard so-to-speak. Funny thing is, I learn more and more as time separates me from my experiences. Man, it would be cool to have the ability to glean everything we can in the moment that it is happening. We would no longer need hindsight to view things with 20-20 vision. Maybe the more we are in tune with the Spirit, our counselor, the more we will be able to see multi-dementionally. Like, living with 4-D spiritual glasses!
On my way back from Denver I was routed through Minneapolis, MN. I had about 50 minutes to catch my connecting flight to Raliegh. I arrived at my gate with time to spare. They had not begun to board yet so I took the opportunity to hit the restroom of normal size. I don’t know what the airplane designers were thinking when they made the airplane bathrooms! I am a big guy by some standards, but by no means large compared to a growing majority of americans. I am roughly 6 ft. 2 in. and weigh in at 185lbs. Needless to say, the airplane bathrooms are built for kids!
Anyways, sorry for rambling! When i left the bathroom, I saw that the gate was closed. “I wasn’t in there that long!”, I thought to myself. I peered through the door that led to the plane and saw a gal who worked for the airline. I banged on the door loud enough for her to hear me. She came and proceeded to tell me that she had retracted the stairs from the terminal and could not open them. She begins to look for another flight for me. I calmly protested while looking at my plane sitting there with the door open and stairs still down. It did not make sense to me! I was seeing one thing and thinking that I should be able to catch my flight but for some reason, unbeknownst to me, I was delayed till a later time.
But, while I was standing there I noticed that I was not upset. I did not try to push or coerce my way onto the plane. I told the nice lady that was helping me that, “this is not like me, I am not upset like I would normally be”. I went on to tell her I was on a faith-walk and was learning to trust God. What a blessing to know that God is in control no matter how things appear!
She proceeded to get me on another flight at no cost to me. Now, she did not have to do this! She went the extra mile, for which I am grateful. While I was going through this, of course the thought crossed my mind… “O.K God what are you up to here? Are you orchestrating a divine appt. with Mr. Tebow?”
No, no Tim Tebow sighting yet! But, three weeks after the missed plane, here is what God showed me….. we see very dimly right now compared to how we will see when we receive our eternal inheritance… our heavenly bodies and home. Right now, we will have to accept the fact that we are not in control and trust the One who is… step by step. It is amazing when I walk in this! It is so freeing when I take God at His word and walk in relationship, trusting His goodness, love, power and sovereignty! It really simplifies life and allows me to live out life like a child, walking in the child-like faith that the Bible speaks of. “We are His children, the sheep of His pasture” …
Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks.
1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
Unfortunately, we humans “grow up” and want our independence! “All we like sheep….”
Isaiah 53:6
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
We mistake independence for freedom! When, in reality- God’s reality, not ours, Freedom is found in trusting and obeying! I love that simple child-like song…. Trust and Obey… It is a forgotten song! Too simplistic for our sophisticated taste.
We live life like this… When we buy something that needs to be assembled. We have the option of following the instructions or going it on our own. Sadly, our lives are a lot like this. We choose to go it alone thinking that we have the answers or that we can figure it out! When, the truth is, we were designed to walk in relationship with our designer. When we chose to walk away, He graciously sent a manual of directions for living and even sent His Son to show us how it, life, is supposed to work.
In closing… this is what I have learned from the airport wait… We/I think things should happen at a certain time.. the time I think makes sense. This thinking causes us to attempt to put God on our time tables. To, promote us above God! Of course when you think about it like this it sounds obsurd. Well, that is how obsurd it is for us to elavate our thoughts and ways above His. To deceive ourselves into thinking that we know best or have a better way! In essence.. it is pride, the pride we inherited from the father of lies.
Prayer
“Thank-you Lord that you are in control and that I can walk with you, trusting and obeying. That I don’t need to figure it all out, but simply trust you and pray for wisdom, insight and the willingness to obey you no matter what. No matter how I see, think, feel or perceive.. I am to trust and obey and receive your peace that passes all understanding. Thank-you for your word, our manual for life, and our counselor-your Spirit! I know that I am not alone… that I don’t have to go it alone and rely on myself to figure life out! Thank-you! Please accept my flawed attempt to love you in return for your perfect love for me. I rest in you being God and me being your son. Thanks Dad!”
