The view from 40,000 feet.

The American southwest is beautiful. Until a trip in 2014 I had never flown over it, only ridden through it. From 40,000 feet up, the view is spectacular. You see snow-capped mountains rising out of the desert. You see canyons cut into the ground by rivers. You see mesas and valleys. God did a great job when He created all of it. While flying over I watched for a long time as town after town and road after road left the view from my tiny window.  But what I found intriguing was when following a particular road you would watch as it twisted and turned, rose and fell through the beautiful, rugged landscape.

The view from 40,000 feet gives you a unique point of view. While from the plane I could see the valleys or mountains in the distance, those on the road would have a completely different view. The mountains I saw as small or the valleys I saw as shallow could be monstrous to the person at ground level. The bends in the road would cause the driver to leave their straight line approach and detour around some obstruction. In the end I could see what the driver of a car could not. I could see the beauty of the landscape ahead of them. I could see how they would get where they needed to go.

I thought, as I watched the roads, about how it resembled God's view of our life. When God looks at the landscape of our life, from His perspective He sees a beautiful, rugged landscape. He can see how the path of our life will twist and turn. How it will rise and fall over the terrain. He can also see the valleys and the mountains that seem so overwhelming to us. He sees our approach to Him on the mountain tops. He sees our fall into sin's deep chasm. Those bends that come about, that cause us to take paths different than what we had planned, are plainly in His sight. They don't catch Him by surprise. In the end God sees how we need to proceed through life to get to the point where He needs us. The benefit to us is that unlike me in a plane watching a car on the road, God is ever present in our life to help us down the path of life.

The next time you feel overwhelmed by life, remember that God has a much better view of where you are at and what you will face than you could ever imagine. Trust in Him to help you proceed down the path of life to the point where He needs you to be (Proverbs 3:5-6).

If you enjoyed today's post be sure to Share it on Facebook and Twitter so others can be encouraged too!