This morning, my husband and I went out early to walk on the beach. The waves were rough and as we headed west toward storm clouds we thought we might get rained on. The clouds darkened and swelled. Finally, long after we’d passed our turn-around point, we stopped and headed back for the rental house. When we did, we saw a beautiful sunrise in the east, the sun pushing away a thin layer of pale clouds.
Sometimes life seems dark and ominous and yet when we turn, when we gain a new perspective, we see the promise and hope coming over the horizon.
Not too many years ago, my husband called me one evening and I could hear something in his voice. Something was wrong. He’d been laid off. Of course, we immediately saw the dark storm clouds threatening our lives. Yet, that devastating change, painful as it was, also brought us new opportunities. Looking back, we can both see it was a blessing.
But it’s often hard to get a new perspective when we’re in the midst of a storm, when the wind is churning around us and thunder is rumbling, when we’re suffering and in pain. If we look for God’s perspective in the situation, it can help us to see the storm for what it is. Maybe it’s helping us grow. Maybe it’s bringing a change and a blessing. Maybe we can’t understand why but we can see that it’s brief.
How do we get God’s perspective? For me, I read the bible and through reading God’s word I gain better understanding of myself and the situations I’m going through.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
What storm have you weathered that when you gained God’s perspective or looked at the sky from a different perspective you garnered a new appreciation for what you were going through?