View from above the clouds

I don't particularly enjoy flying (perhaps I ought to resist an attempt at humour by saying that it makes my arms rather tired!) Long flights, especially, can get rather wearisome, especially when I am not in an aisle seat and the leg room is restricted. Our recent flights to and from Spain weren't too bad, being only approx. 3 hours flying time each way. On the outward journey I was sitting in an aisle seat. Coming back, I found myself in the centre seat of 3. The benefit of this position was that I was nearer to the window, and therefore able to catch glimpses of the awesome sights from above the clouds.

The cloud formations were amazing in themselves. But flying above the clouds also has the advantage of remaining in the sunlight (unless it's night time, of course!) For most of our time in Spain we saw relatively few clouds. It was not surprising, however, that as we headed back to the UK the cloud formations began to make themselves known. As we flew over the clouds, I thought about those on the ground below. No doubt there were more than a few people complaining about the dull or rainy August weather! The perspective we had from above the clouds was completely different from what those on the ground were seeing.

I wonder whether there is something of a comparison to be made when we think of the human perspective in certain issues and how God sees them. There is no doubt that we all come up against difficult issues in life, situations and circumstances with which we grapple. Maybe we just can't understand why God would allow such a thing to happen.

I am reminded of a verse in the Bible, when God says, "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9). I am convinced that there will be some things in life which we will never fully understand, because we don't see them from God's perspective. Ultimately, we have to recognise that God sees some things from a very different perspective, and so we need to trust that he knows best.

There will come a day, when we stand before God, when many things will become clear. St. Paul puts it this way, "Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely." (1 Corinthians 13:12). I'm content to leave it there.