Watching the Radar
From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth–he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. –Psalm 33:13,14
One of my favorite apps on my smartphone is my radar app. Why I feel the need to compulsively check it every time I see a couple dark clouds in the sky, I don’t know; but it makes me feel a little better knowing what kind of weather may be headed my way. Sometimes everything in my area looks all clear, and it appears I’m going to be able to enjoy a beautiful sunny day. Then I zoom out and see a massive green/yellow/red blob headed east and I know I’d better prepare. Other times, my area is covered by that green/yellow/red blob and it’s so massive it seems it will never stop raining. But again I zoom out, see where the edge of the storm system is, and know eventually it will let up and my sunshine will be back.
We are blessed to have a God that has pinpoint-perfect radar, 100% of the time. Sometimes everything seems to be going smoothly in life, and we don’t understand why God seems to be trying to stretch us in this or that area. Geeze, Lord, can’t you just let me enjoy some smooth sailing for a while? However, God has already zoomed out and knows there is a storm coming that you need to be prepared to weather. Other times it seems the storms of life will never end. Months or even years go by and there doesn’t seem to be any sign of relief in the near future. But God again is already zoomed out, and in the big picture He can see the end of that storm system. He pre-appointed it and knows exactly when it is ending and your new season is beginning.
This is where our faith and trust in His abilities is key. If we truly, deeply believe that He is aware of what is happening now and knows what is coming in the future, we can remain at peace regardless of what our life’s “radar” picture looks like at present. Our God never wastes time, leads us on, or plays games! Everything is under His control even when it feels like chaos. We may not have the ability to zoom out on our life’s radar to see the big picture, but God does! He’s already on the job before we are even aware there’s an issue. We will all experience loss, disappointment and betrayal at some point in life. Many, unfortunately, will also experience trauma. Those are all part of living in a broken world. God may not always prevent us from going through life scar-free, but He does promise to give us the strength to endure and is there to pour out His love on us when we need healing. Even when we are in the darkest pit and it seems there is nothing to praise God for, we can still praise Him for the deliverance and victory we know are coming. We can claim it and praise Him for it until it manifests.
Let our prayer be that God would help us trust Him even when we can’t zoom out and see the big picture.
#worry #trust #patience #encouragement #anxiety #struggle #trials #spiritualgrowth #fear