I thought about the blind spot recently one day on the way home from work. As an image about faith filled my mind, I realized God had tucked a lesson away in a place I had traveled for nearly a decade. I couldn't seem to shake what God was pointing out. Not only is my driving routine full of blind spots, but so is my life. There are many moments where I can’t see where the road leads or honestly if there even is a road to follow. Sometimes I take that leap of faith, and other times I'm unsure if I have enough strength to go to the unknown.
As much as I’d like to avoid moments like this and just take a different road, I’ve come to realize that it is in the uncertainty of my own strength that my faith in God’s ability grows. Every time I come to a point in my story when I can’t see what’s ahead, God is calling me to do the same thing I do when I’m driving over that hill. He is asking me to keep moving and trust that I am going to make it to the other side. When I come to that place, I have a choice. I can stop and never advance any further or I can trust that what is beyond my understanding will get me to where I need to go.
It seems so simple when you think about driving. No one would actually stop at the bottom of a hill, get out of their car and decide it wasn’t worth it, but I wonder how many times we do that in life? I wonder how many times we are standing at the bottom of our hill looking at what stands in our way rather than at Who can help lead the way?
I recently finished a book called When God Doesn't Fix It about worship leader and song writer Laura Story and her husband Martin. There was a sentence in the book that pointed out, “God’s faithfulness meets our faithlessness." I couldn't help but picture the stark contrast of what those two words mean. I think it looks a lot like God meeting us in those moments where we can’t see and must choose to trust and Him bringing us to the other side. Of the road. Of our problem. Of our pain. No matter where we are or what we are facing, God brings us through. But He doesn’t just bring us through for our benefit. He brings us through to help others.
I know how hard it is to believe that when you are in the middle of it. And I know how easy it would be to just stop and stay where you are in that moment, but what if the things we are walking through aren’t just about us? What if we are experiencing them so that one day we can look at someone else and tell them how God came alongside us in the very same situation? What if there is greater purpose in our pain than what we can see right now? And maybe it’s not about what we can see at all. Perhaps it’s more about what God can do.
I have these words on a chalkboard in my room from an Elevation Worship song:
Your promise still stands
Great is Your faithfulness
I’m still in Your hands
This is my confidence
You’ve never failed me yet
I’ve had a hard time lately with that last line. I know God is good and I know He cares, but it has felt a lot like He’s forgotten me. But I know it isn't true because even as I type these words, I feel the Holy Spirit stir.
The reason it seems like I has failed you is because we have different perspectives on what I AM supposed to be doing.
Maybe that’s where you find yourself today. Maybe you have ideas in your heart that God never promised. Maybe your time table isn’t synced with God’s. Maybe your asking God for things like being able to see the road when what He wants is for you to trust that there is one.
I keep hearing this phrase whisper across my soul; share your story. It’s what Laura did. It’s what those in the Bible did. And I think it’s what God is calling us to do, even amidst the struggle. Even if it’s not quite finished. That doesn’t mean we need to tell everything to every person that walks by, but rather that we can use what we are learning to help those God places in our lives. It means we can look for opportunities everyday to step out of our pain and take one step closer to being on the other side.
My story isn’t finished yet and there are places I’m not all the way through, but I know that God is there; because He has been with me in every hill, valley and step of the way. And we can have confidence in His timing and His plans. I think Jeremiah says it best, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future” (29:11). If you find yourself in a blind spot, wondering what tomorrow holds or if anything is waiting on the other side, don't stop. Take the journey. Share your story. And believe that the road is taking you somewhere.
-Only Hope
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