“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:9 NASB)
Recently, my three year-old daughter and I had a “Daddy/Daughter Date” for lunch. It was too cold for a picnic outside, so we decided to go to our church and find a spot for an indoor picnic.
The spot we chose was on
the second floor, with comfortable couches and sofas for which to have our special meal. To the unsuspecting eye, the room seems fully enclosed. However, on the other side of the room stands a set of French doors which open out onto the atrium below.
“That’s scary, daddy”. It took me a minute to understand what she was referring to. From the vantage point of less than 3 feet off the ground, the doors seemed to open into a black hole. From her angle, the only thing she could see through the windows was the pitch-black ceiling. As she’s lately been going through a typical three-year-old fearful stage, her response then made perfect sense.
“Those doors actually open out over the atrium”, I said. She remained unfazed.
“Do you want to go over there and see by yourself or do you want me to come with you?”
“Come with me”.
So we slowly walked over to the French doors and I picked her up so she could look through the window from my vantage point.
“Look. What do you see?”
“It’s the atrium!”
“Does it look scary any
more?”
“No”.
“See there, it’s just like I said. So, will you trust daddy the next time he says there’s nothing to be afraid of?”
She shook her head up-and-down in acknowledgement, without saying a word.
On the inside, I was shaking my head up-and-down, too. God was reminding me of a valuable lesson.
What we see with our human eyes is sometimes very scary from our vantage point. We see it from a low point, a place that has very little perspective beyond what’s right in front of us. What we see isn’t necessarily inaccurate, but it might not be the whole story.
It’s only when we see from God’s vantage point – a perspective much higher than ours – that we see things as they really are. He’s much bigger, so He sees the much bigger picture to our lives that we often times just can’t see.
Am I willing to ask God for His perspective on my current situation? If He chooses not to share with me the full view of my current circumstance, am I still willing to trust Him that He sees it for what it really is and not for the scary thing that I perceive it to be?
Somehow, I doubt this will be the last lesson I learn through my children’s eyes. At least, I hope not.
I guess Daddies do know best, after all.
