Seeing through the storm – by Shana Schutte, Blueprint For Life

 

Most days in Southern Colorado are sunny, “roll-the-top-down-and-let-the-wind-blow-in-your-hair” days. Contrary to popular opinion, life along the front range of the Rockies isn’t all blizzards and snow flurries.

On sunny days, navigating along a curvy mountain road is no problem. The sky is blue, the road is clear, and the view ahead is unobstructed. But there are days when snow creates a whiteout and you have no idea if you are driving on the right side of the road and you might even wonder if you are going in the right direction.

Pursuing God’s purposes for one’s life can be like Colorado weather. I’ve had my share of “roll-the-top-down” days (mostly seasons), when moving in God’s calling seemed crystal clear. I had confidence about my direction.

And then I have had the opposite.

During these times, I have experienced decreased visibility which equaled doubts about the future. The calling I thought I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt came into question. God, am I still going the right direction? Lord, is this still your purpose for me? The road no longer seemed clear.

The great news is that during these days—or even seasons—of decreased visibility, we can still live in confidence because faith looks through what is seen in the natural (and even “through” what we feel) to see what is invisible with our spiritual eyes—specifically to Who is invisible.

Scripture says that Moses had confidence, that he persevered because he saw “him who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27). True, Moses literally saw God in the form of a burning bush. But he also saw God with the “eyes of his heart” or his spiritual eyes described by Paul in Ephesians 1:18.

We also have “eyes of the heart” with which we can see Him who is invisible too. When we “see” with eyes of faith, when we lean on Him for direction, even though the future is unclear, we recognize that it is never unclear to Him. This is what gives us confidence when the road of life is uncertain. It’s at these times that focusing less on what we do and more on Who we know is of utmost importance. We steady ourselves with the confident hope that we have a God who loves us and wants us to get where we need to go more than we want to get there.