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Born with a genetic eye defect, I didn’t realize I couldn’t see like other kids until I reached third grade. I squirmed when my mother requested that teachers place me in the front row—did I need extra supervision? One day, I asked Mrs. Jackson if I could move to the second row, and she complied. But within two days, I found myself creeping forward and kneeling by the first-row desk so I could see the chalkboard.
At that time, my eyes saw the world as a bunch of blurry blobs. Objects lacked definition and details. In that defining moment by the first-row desk, I realized that If I wanted to see anything, including chalkboards, I had to move closer.
The Bible tells me I’m not the only one who has had a problem with proximity. Moses, the man who eventually led the Israelites out of Egypt and became known as the great Lawgiver, spent a third of his life as an obscure shepherd. One day, on the far side of nowhere, he noticed a bush on fire, but the bush was not burning up. So he moved closer to investigate, and he discovered the presence of God.
Even with our modern technology of telescopes and radar, all humans face a limit to the seen world. It’s true in our spiritual lives as well. The Bible uses the imagery of light and darkness to describe the limits to our understanding of God’s ways. We don’t know everything God knows. He doesn’t plaster His plans for us on roadside billboards.
Sometimes, we wish He would. It would be nice if He would spell out His entire plan so we know what we’re getting ourselves into. Yet the nature of life is that we know only what has happened in the past and what is now occurring in the present. Based on experience and observation, we can predict how our current tangle of circumstances will resolve. But we know all too well that like a good novel, life is filled with plot twists and surprise endings. It makes for great reading but isn’t so pleasant in real life. If only we could know beforehand that everything will turn out all right in the end.
When Moses approached the burning bush, God handed him the file of directions for the next segment of his life. Moses stalled. He had questions. He had doubts. He didn’t think he had the skillset to follow through.
Unknown to Moses, that encounter with God would be the first of many. Moses would become so close in his relationship with God that one day, he would catch the retreating figure of God’s glory. He would draw so close to God that his face would shine with the reflection of God’s presence. But on that day in the desert, he wasn’t there yet. If he was to see and understand God’s overarching plan, he had to move closer. Emphasis on the word move. Moses’ journey towards God’s plans started with one step of obedience. “Go!” Moses had to take that first step when he couldn’t see beyond the desert and didn’t know anything more than what God had told him.
Moses had only a blurry snapshot of God’s plan when he agreed to confront Pharoah. Yet with each step, he gained a clearer picture of the future God had planned for the Israelites. Moses discovered, as he went, that God did uphold His promises. The Israelite elders listened to him. Pharoah, as God had predicted, did not. God exhibited His power to Pharoah, the Egyptians, the Israelites, and Moses himself in amazing ways that ultimately influenced a grudging Pharoah to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt.
Henry Blackaby, in his book Experiencing God, said, “Look and see where God is moving and join Him in His work.” Like me, Moses, and so many other people of faith, we won’t see all there is to see from our initial starting point. We have to step forward, one step at a time, then take another step and another. As we move closer to join God in His eternal plans, we’ll discover that He does keep His promises, we’ll better understand His rational for doing what He is doing, and we’ll find our place in His program.
That step forward is called faith. So certain that God will do what He has promised, we willingly make life choices that demonstrate our confidence. Current circumstances might not support our conviction, but we do it anyway. Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The rest of Hebrews 11 gives examples of men and women who did just that. They couldn’t see God’s eternal plan to bring his children home, but they were willing to live lives contrary to earthly reasoning so that one day, they would see God in all His glory.
Today, you may feel uncertain about your future. You don’t see how God has any part in what you face. It may seem like He isn’t doing anything to resolve your current circumstances. You have a vague idea of what He wants you to do with the next segment of your life, and you’d like more detail before you give a final “yes.”
Take the first step. Move closer. Emphasis on the word, move. As you go forward, step by step, His plans and promises will take on more definition and detail.
But moving forward in the blur is scary. How can you and I move forward with confidence when we don’t know the details of our future?
Here’s what you can remember when you can’t see beyond the blur:
God is always with you. You may not see Him, but He sees you. (Ps 139:2,3). He knows exactly what you are facing.
God knows the end of the story. You don’t know the future, but He does. He’s not standing next to you, trying to figure out the solution with you. He already knows (Jeremiah 29:11).
He won’t leave you. He will stay with you from the starting point to the finish line. He will not abandon you (Isaiah 42:16).
If God doesn’t seem visible to you and you feel uncertain about His plans, focus on what you know. Take the next step, just one step. Act in obedience based on your faith in the promises He has given to you. As you move closer to Him, what He wants for you will unfold like the beautiful layers of an opening rose. And, like Moses, even better, you will see God in all the fullness of His glory.
Karen Wingate, author of With Open Ears: 60 Reflections on the Wonder of Sound from a Woman Born Blind, loves to write about God’s presence and activity in our world. She enjoys making homemade bread, knitting blankets for babies in need, and watching sunsets in her hometown of Tucson, AZ.
Contact info: karenawingate@gmail.com
(309) 255-2488
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