Mountain-Top Moments: Thoughts on Perspective

Just a note of encouragement for today:

On a particular hike up a mountain in New Zealand, Andy and I came close to what we thought was the summit. Suddenly the path veered away and began leading us in an entirely different direction. I felt discouraged and even frustrated because the summit we had bypassed by following the path seemed so much higher than all of the landscape around it. I even complained to my dear husband that the views from wherever the path was now leading us to would probably not be as good as the ones we had left behind. As we weaved our way through the hilly terrain, our legs grew weary but we continued to press on. And then we saw it: the real summit. We surged on and sure enough, it did not disappoint. When we reached the top, we had a 360 degree view of the surrounding landscape. I realized that we were standing significantly higher than even the other “summit” we had passed earlier. I was grateful the path had not just led us to the mediocre views found below. It had instead led us to experience the bounty of breathtaking views from the top. 

As a dreamer, I love to catch the vision of something and pursue it whole-heartedly.  I push harder and harder in sheer anticipation and excitement for the glorious feeling of accomplishment. Standing on top of that mountain, though, I realized how often I try to pursue things in life that seem to be a grand climax or a great opportunity, but then I get  flustered when it doesn’t work out. When life steers me away from the things I chase after, often times I feel discouraged, wondering why God would ever lead me away from things that seem so good. But we must remember that God’s view is so much higher than our own and he can see the “summits” ahead that we don’t. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). Standing on top of that mountain, I finally realized what this verse means. God’s view of our lives is different than our own. He can see the complete picture, the full span of the landscape surrounding our situations. He wants us to trust him, believing that where his path is leading us in life will be better than anything we could conjure up on our own. He knows that if we just keep pressing forward, trusting in him and waiting on his timing, there is an even grander view he has in store right around the corner. And we can be sure that it is a bounty of breathtaking views that will bring him even more glory and will make the other opportunities we had in view seem so insignificant in the end.

I hope that this jumble of thoughts was encouraging to you today. It is a bit different than the content I normally post, but it was on my heart to share with you. Take care and feel free to drop a jumble of thoughts below 🙂