I hate to admit it, but I frequently get busy and focus on what I am doing while forgetting life is much bigger than what is happening to me.
It is very easy to overlook what is important when running at top speed to get through our daily “to do lists.”
I am not suggesting there is no value in the things we do; however, even the most mature among us struggle to live with eternal perspective in a self-centered world.
When we focus primarily on ourselves, we inevitably lose sight of the fact that life does not revolve around us. Even when we are aware of this, we forget our perspective is incredibly limited.
This truth was reinforced when a friend gave me an article from an old “Reader’s Digest” entitled, “How Fast Are You Going When You’re Standing Still?”
It provided excellent perspective about how little we comprehend.
To someone standing next to you at the equator, you appear stationary. However, someone standing on the moon could observe that you are actually spinning at 1,041 mph.
Perspective would change again if someone could stand on the sun. From that vantage point, an observer would see you are circling the home star at 60,000 mph.
However, from the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy, Earth could be seen spiraling through the Milky Way at an average speed of 530,000 mph.
Even when we are standing still, you and I are traveling at more than 591,000 mph. If we are moving that fast when we think we are not moving at all, we would do well to be aware that there is always more going on than we see.
The Bible contains many stories where God reveals himself.
In one, the Old Testament patriarch Jacob learned, while running from his brother, that God is with us, even when we do not know that he is.
God appeared to Jacob in a dream and promised, “…I am the LORD, the God of your grandfather Abraham, and the God of your father, Isaac. The ground you are lying on belongs to you. I am giving it to you and your descendants.” (Genesis 28:13, NLT)
You and I never fully see how God is at work— but that does not mean he is absent.
The next time you find yourself in the middle of a challenge, take a moment to remember … things are never quite the way they seem. God is with us every moment of every day and that fact changes everything.
Tim Richards grew up in Fairdealing and previously served as associate pastor of Pilgrim’s Rest Church there. He currently serves as a pastor on the staff of Concord Church in South County St. Louis.