The View from 37,000 Feet

Don’t you wish you could sometimes look down on your ministry or business from above, so you could see the big picture perfectly clear?

We assume this will help us get the knowledge we crave, the customers we need, and the results we want.

But what we sometimes fail to realize is that we will always have limited vision.

And that’s exactly how God intended it.

As I type this, I’m looking down on the world at 37,000 feet, somewhere in the skies above Houston, headed for Cincinnati.

It was a foggy, rainy morning on the ground in Houston, you could barely see the tops of the skyscrapers in downtown. But now when I look out the window, the sun is shining and it’s a gorgeous day.

But there’s just one problem….now everything below me is covered in clouds.

As much as I can see, I still can’t see everything that I want to see. As high as I am, my vision is still limited—I still am not all-knowing.

I hope you can see where I’m headed with this analogy.

For some of us who love to plan, analyze, brainstorm, and goal-set, we crave that big picture view. We thrive on data, knowledge assessments, and turning that knowledge and data into real-world results.

But in all of our plans, we must leave ample room for the God-factor. The God-factor is that often unseen, yet all-powerful hand that is majestically orchestrating events and our lives in ways far above and far greater than even our best plans.

So this week, as we plan, strategize, and grow our organizations, let’s not attempt to do it with just our own limited vision.

Your best data and goal planning pales in comparison with what God wants to do.

Let’s bring Him into our Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, ask Him to lead, and give Him permission to even if necessary, get in our way, and accomplish what He wants to do in and through us.

“God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity we plan only the things we can do by ourselves.” – A. W. Tozer