I’m flying again today and as I looked out my window some 10,000 metres up I realised I had a clear view of the countryside as far as the eye can see. The mountain ranges, valleys, hills, rivers, roadways and towns stretch across the landscape. From up here I can see tracks through the mountains, which path to follow, the rivers and streams that eventually all merge into the ocean and how everything is cleverly and intricately mapped out.
All of this is visible and obvious because I’m above it all, which is much like our lives and the way we go about things. Undoubtedly we are going to wonder which path in life to take and once on that path how to navigate it and any hurdles or difficulties we may face. We may know the direction and the goals ahead but be unsure of the exact direction to proceed on, and if we are not careful or paying attention we can make a wrong move and end up wandering around aimlessly until we get a better view and some wisdom as to where we are meant to be going.
A few years ago one of our lovely daughters and her friend discovered this life lesson and just how easy it is to wander off the right path and desired goal or destination. They’d been having a great time hiking in the national park and were heading back to their vehicle and home when things went array. Nightfall was approaching rapidly, their phone batteries were running low and it was getting cold, but the girls were having so much fun dancing and singing as they followed the track through the bush they failed to notice when they took a wrong turn. Still merrily hiking they walked for an hour or so more only to discover they were not where they thought they were and now very lost. It was cold and getting darker every second and they realised they’d hiked kilometres from their destination and couldn’t possibly find their way out.
This is where having a birdseye view or seeing from a height helps. Our daughter quickly started listening up to God speaking to her and His directions to head to higher ground and a clearing up ahead. This is when we received her call that yes they were lost in the bush. Police and rescue services were called and a search party sent out, complete with the rescue helicopter.
Wisdom says when we are facing a hurdle or decision, whether that is being lost in the bush, not sure of which path to take or how to get through or over a hurdle in life, is to do what the girls and that rescue helicopter did. Get to the higher ground, and get there fast.
When we need to know which direction to go, its beneficial to take the time to stop, assess the hurdle and/or routes available and then look from heavens viewpoint – from above. It is easy for me to see from a plane how you’d navigate through the valleys and ranges, or how to follow the river to the sea and to understand the zigzag of paths, which on the ground look confusing but from the air obviously all lead somewhere. Likewise it was simpler for the girls to signal the helicopter from higher ground, and for the rescuers looking from above so they could shine a spotlight and notify the ground crew of their exact location.
God always has directions, and a means of both escape when we are in trouble and help for us to breakthrough or scale that hurdle. The key is to ask for help from above, instead of struggling below in our own strength.
To come up out of the circumstances and see from God’s perspective. He will make it clear which direction to take and what to do and how to do it as you seek Him and His way of doing things… (Matthew 6:33)
That however doesn’t mean you can sit back and do nothing. The girls were still required to hike to higher ground even though they were hungry and tired. We don’t just skip the hurdles in life, we learn how to go over them, through them or how to navigate around them if need be. And we still have to keep walking once we know the path, because that’s all part of the fun of the process of making us who we are created to be.
Today seek higher ground. Seek God and His way of doing life. It all becomes a lot clearer and you’re far less likely to get “lost in the bush”. But know that if you do lose your way, all you need do is call for help from heaven and He’ll shine His light and wisdom on you and your situation and send you all the help and encouragement you need.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” (Psalm 46:1)
“Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know”. (Jeremiah 33:3)
“After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” (Revelation 4:1)
Prayer: Lord thank you that you see everything and that when I seek you and your view from heavenly places things can and do become far clearer. Please help me today to see the path to take and the way past any hurdles in my journey. In Jesus name Amen
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