Squinting in the Fog
Have you ever driven in fog? Or maybe through a torrential downpour or blinding blizzard? The road ahead, and the scenery alongside the road, that was once clearly visible is now not easily seen. During those moments you are forced to reduce your speed, turn off your car radio, take a deep breath, grip the steering wheel a little tighter and really focus on staying between the white lines. Your depth perception is distorted and your vision is limited. But once the storm passes or the fog lifts, things again come into clear view.
In life we face the same thing. The world around us does not always make sense. Maybe things in your own life don’t make sense. You have a hard time understanding why things are the way they are. It just does not make sense. It could even be that today you look at your life and it just seems to be one new challenge upon top of another and you find yourself becoming disillusioned, discouraged, frustrated, maybe even hopeless. At every turn you seem to face another foggy stretch of road or blinding snow storm. The dreams you had, well, you have stopped dreaming and right now you simply just want to hang on and get through the fog without crashing into the ditch. You find yourself questioning your faith. You find yourself questioning God, or maybe you wonder if there even is a God in heaven.
The problem is not with God, the problem lies in us; we cannot see beyond the limits of our understanding. Thankfully we have a God who created the universe and everything in it. In Colossians 1:16 we read – “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”
And not only did God create it all, but He also knows the big picture. In Isaiah 46:10 we are told that God knows the end from the beginning and ancient times from what is still to come. And throughout scripture we are told that one day our limited and blurry vision will be no more; we will see things as God sees them and it will all make sense. Let me share that promise of God with you – “We don’t yet see things clearly. We are squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us” (1 Corinthians 13:12, MSG).
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard said this, “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
So, today, you can have the confidence that it seems as if you are always squinting in the fog, you can trust that God is in control and that one day you will see it all clearly, and it will all make sense!
If you are encouraged by this or any of my writings, you can subscribe to be notified by email when I post something new. To subscribe, click here. Once you put in your email address you will then get an email confirming that you wish to subscribe. Thank you.