LOOKING BEYOND

It has been said that sometimes “we can’t see the forest for the trees”. Have you ever tried to figure out just what that means? I’ve thought about it quite a bit lately. In effect, it means that we can sometimes get so caught up with what’s going on in our immediate surroundings that we can’t actually see what is happening in the broader sense. For example, we can get so caught up in our immediate personal crises that we fail to see that God has not abandoned us amidst it all. We get so frazzled and flustered and expend so much energy putting out brush fires that we lose all sense of both who we are and whose we are which can be a devastatingly harmful state of affairs.

But why should we subject ourselves to such pain. The song writer wrote, “…Oh what needless pains we bear, All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” When we get stuck in the muck and mire of life, deep in the throes of the forest, it’s good to know that we have someone who sits high but who looks low and can extend His perspective to us such that we can see beyond the immediate. One who can help us understand that though “…weeping may endure through the evening, joy comes in the morning”.

Have you tried Jesus lately? Have you called on him to help you look beyond your current circumstance? Or, are you trying to go it alone? Let me assure you that because of our human limitations we will never be able to fully see beyond the trees. We will never be able to see the complete forest enough to know that it does have a starting and stopping point. So, why not look to the Savior who is able to help us look beyond.

Let us remember the One who came as a humble baby, reigns as King of the world, and will bring us peace and calm. No matter your circumstance, recognize that Jesus is with you, and shout for joy.

Don’t be overwhelmed by the trees, look beyond the forest, look to God.

Rev. Dr. Aaron D. Black, Sr., Pastor