A View From a Window

This is the view from my bedroom window. I love looking out at our barn.  My husband built it.   By the barn sits the lawn mower, and our grandchildren call it their tractor; they love to play on it. It's a pleasant view.  But if you were to look in a different direction,  you would see a pile of lumber  from a chicken coop that we tore down; you would see a lot of junk that has yet to be hauled off to the dump, and that would not be a very pretty picture.  Yet you can scan around further and you would see green pine trees, bird feeders with birds singing sweetly as they feast on their seeds.


The Lord reminded me the other day that the we often view our trials and struggles much like the view from a window.  When we look out the window, we only see a small, limited portion.  When we focus on our problem, we only see the problem.  We often don't see beyond the trouble, but God sees the whole picture.  He sees beyond our trouble and knows the end of it.  In our Bible class at church, we are studying the book of Job.  Job's trials pale in comparison to most of our struggles.  He lost all of children, his cattle, and his health.  In the first two chapters we find out something that Job doesn't know.  God allowed Satan to go so far with Job and no farther, because God knew Job's heart, and that Job was a righteous man.  He was not righteous because of anything Job himself had done, his righteousness rested on his belief in Christ alone.  He believed that Christ would come to pay for our sins and set us free from sin and guilt.  Job struggled like we all do, why are going through this trial.  I know many people who face trials right now. Some cannot find work and there are bills to pay; some have health issues that they are struggling with; some have financial woes and wonder how they can stretch their paychecks when the cost of everything goes higher each day, but wages stay the same.  We focus on the struggle to the point that the struggle is all we see. It's like taking a 50 cent piece and holding it close to the eye, and all that one sees is the coin, but move the coin farther away, and one can see everything outside the coin.  We hold the problem too close.

God wants us to let go of the problem and focus on Him, and when we do, we begin to see that God has a plan.  We may not know what the plan is nor may we ever know, but it shouldn't it be enough that God knows?  I don't know about you, dear Reader, but I find I often hold my problem too close to and lose sight of God.  Do I believe Romans 8.28 that God works all things for good, or am I just giving lip service to it?  I pray I am not. 

The limited view from the window of our struggle may not be a pretty sight, but God's view is perfect; God's view is beautiful for He sees the plans He has for us to give us a future and a hope!  (Jeremiah 29.11)

I saw this view of the  little house finch from my kitchen window; the little finch would take a bite of seed, and he then proceeded to sing his heart out.  I thought he must be praising God for providing for his food, water, and shelter. If God cares for this little bird, how much more is His care for us?  Christ loves us so much He came to earth to live, die, and rise again for us.  Amazing Love!  Now when I see the view of any struggle I may have, I will try to remember that God's view is better than mine, and I shall leave the results with Him who loves me.