Un[tangled] Perspective

I couldn’t get the tangled mass undone.

The more I tried, the bigger mess it became.

No amount of pulling, yelling, or begging helped.

The strings seemed to wrap tighter the more I worked.

It wasn’t until I sat back and gave myself some time and distance to examine the problem, did the solution present itself. The jumbled, unusable heap quickly became something of value again.

Perspective made all the difference.

How many times does this scenario carry over into how we live our lives?

In the crazy, chaotic, imperfect world we live in, jumbled messes are commonplace.

But no matter how often they occur and how often I fail to untangle them, my default reaction is to dive right in and fix them … period.

Immediately. On my own.

 “Take the bull by the horns.” “Show it who is boss.”

But by going it alone, even if I eventually unravel the snag, I lose!

Trying to solve life’s problems on my own, by getting down and dirty, only results in lost time, a lot of hair pulling, and bitterness.

To navigate through the web of our earthly existence, we need much more than ourselves and our “up-close” view of circumstances.

To unravel the daily knots, community (support) and time (to digest and calm down) are assets; but most of all, we need Divine perspective and guidance.

Whether your initial response to snags is to conquer them on your own, pretend they don’t exist, or curl up in a ball and cry, God has a better answer. His plan trumps anything we could come up with.

While we may only see the end of the snarl or bits and pieces of the beginning and middle, the Lord sees it all, in perfect clarity. His perspective is spiritual, ours temporal.

He knows why we’re in the jumble, how it occurred, and what will happen next. Tapping into His view is essential to getting it untied, untangled, and straightened out.

Even with God’s input, unwinding coils and navigating mazes may still take awhile and require effort. It may still be painful.

However, no matter how twisted our lives may look to us, no knot is too tight for the Lord. With His guidance, we will always come out winners.

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

Questions for you: What is your default response to life’s jumbled messes? Are you a doer, an ignorer, or a crier? How has engaging God’s perspective helped you disentangle situations?

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