“Can’t see the forest for the trees.”
As I was looking out the kitchen window, I could see the lake right behind the house whose waters were being blown eastward by a persistent wind. I could see the playground where robust children, releasing energy could be seen. This was quite the opposite of what I could see in the spring and summer months, filled with days when the children could only be heard and not seen because of the multiple trees that blocked the view. But yesterday, I had a clear view. The fall season had obviously informed the leaves on the trees, in a convincing manner, won’t take no for an answer way, that their season had ended. As I continued to look, I could see the classroom windows behind which there where children being educated and prepared for opened doors and opening doors in the future. Distant kept me from seeing the masterful teachers developing the minds of young people, but I suspect that they were superbly working, and diligently, distinguishing the specific needs of each child, with uniquely designed lessons. Care for the sake of others was being provided by these professionals according to well thought out plans.
All that made me think of the saying, the idiom above. It made me think of the “I” in the idiom. At first, I looked at the fact that sometimes we do get so tied up in specific details and we fail to see the bigger picture in our churches. We see our detailed roles, our ministry assignments, our self-proclaimed areas where we would give our time, talent, and treasures. However, often we don’t see the bigger picture, the designed purpose of the church to edify the saints and the delegated task to grow the church by recruiting and retaining new disciples for Christ. When the “I” that is you and me, when we fail to see the forest because of the trees, we fall short of our potential for growth and we risk, personally speaking, from the “I” perspective, and we become guilty of impacting the status of the local church, particularly so when the older generation can no longer do what they use to do. The “I” in the idiom above make the saying personal. And each of us should take it personally and go beyond the detail and see the bigger picture for the sake of the kingdom.
Still looking out the window, seeing all that I described in the first paragraph, I took a different view of the idiom, “Can’t see the forest for the trees.” I looked at how the “I” in the idiom could again represent us individually as a way we discern if are truly blessed or not. The “I” sometimes cannot see how blessed we are because we don’t look at the bigger picture of our personal blessedness. Need I say more.
Speaking of blessedness, this morning you get blessed with a trifecta of thoughts, three observations, all intended to benefit us as believers. Here is the third one. When God gives us a task, like He gave Moses the task to go tell Pharaoh to let my people go, we look at the detail of our own abilities and fail to look at the bigger picture and see that when sent out on a task, there is Divine Power that will aid use in fulfilling the task, great or small in the eyes of others, yet great in God’s eyes. We see the detail of our abilities and consequently with a shrunken focus, we fail to remember that we serve a big God. We let the “I” in the idiom, “Can’t see the forest for the trees,” delay us, detain us, and even deny us the joy that comes with fulfilling our individual purpose. Take some time and look at how God did not let Moses’ excuses keep him from fulfilling his purpose. One more thing, realize that He will help you overcome your “I” too. Think about it! I hope I helped the kingdom of God this morning! Sorry I am a little bit later than usual in sending this meditation out. Be blessed!
“So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:11-14 Contemporary English Version)
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King