The Whole Picture

Do you ever have those moments when you know God is wooing you? Yes, I said wooing. Those moments which take your breath away and you just know God gave that moment to you, just for you, to let you know how much He loves you. I call those moment “God Kisses”.

I had one of those moments this past Sunday on my way to worship rehearsal. It was very early, and the sun was beginning to rise. The Eastern sky was a glowing orange that was just starting to make its way across to the West. The road I travel on the way to church takes me over one of the highest points in our small town here in Florida. As I reached the top of the hill, I gasped. From the top of the hill you can see fields all around and through the land below. Looking straight across, you see where the terrain rises again into the trees. These rolling hills are the closest thing to “mountains” in Florida.

On any given day, this drive is beautiful, but that morning in particular, the sight was spectacular. The sky to my left was bright with orange and red and blue. I could see far into the distance as the light slowly spread across the land. It was so clear! And yet, there was a thick fog that lay across the fields below, and the tree tops were the only thing you could see. They were tinted a beautiful orange and pink from the rising sun. Even the fog was changed from its usual gray into a sun-kissed glow. From that viewpoint, high atop the hill, I could see the whole picture of the landscape and it was glorious.

As I continued driving down the hill and into the fog, I noticed the scenery changed. It became dark again, and I couldn't see very far in front of me. The brightness of the sun had vanished as I drove through this low lying cloud. If I hadn't seen the beautiful view just moments before, I would have never known the beauty that was coming soon to this darkness.

Isn't that just how it is in our lives? In the midst of our darkest times, as we travel through the storm clouds that come, we cannot see the beauty that God has coming for us. From His vantage point, He sees the whole picture, and it is wonderful. From our view, it seems the darkness will never leave.

Oh, how much easier those dark moments would be if we could only remember that the light from the SON as we lift Him up will burn away that darkness, just as the sun burns away the fog as it rises in the sky. When our lives seem dreary and dark and we can't see very far in front of us, we simply need to remember that even though we can't see the whole picture, God can... and it's good.

We all have times of walking through the valley. Times of trial, stress, frustration. The bible refers to these times often, most famously in Psalm 23 where it speaks of walking through the valley of the shadow of death. It speaks of dark times, but in these times we must lift Him high through our praises, our worship, our prayer. We must wait on Him to burn away the fog that has overcome us. God is Faithful! He will not leave us in the valley forever. His light will dispel the darkness.

Psalm 46:5 says: “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.”

Let me encourage you today... morning is on the way! Help is coming. God sees the whole picture and it is good!

Be Blessed!