I’m not very good with measurements. Don’t get me wrong. I obviously know the difference between an inch and a yard, but reduce the gap, and you never know. Therefore, if I say something is an inch, it may, in fact, be one inch or two or even three. I really have to rely on a ruler or measuring tape if I want to get it right.
It’s the same way in life. Circumstances can be deceiving. Emotions can be misleading. What looks to us as one thing may actually be something entirely different.
I have to remind myself of this often.
In my estimation, there is nothing good that could result from my son’s death.
From my perspective, God was being unloving by allowing him to die.
My frame of reference seems to indicate that God didn’t hear or answer my prayers.
But, because of my own sinful human nature as well as my limited perspective, I do not always see things correctly. My vision is skewed.
That’s why I need a ruler, a standard by which I can measure things. God’s word is the measuring tape, the source of truth, the very thing that I need to tell me that an inch is actually an inch.
So, when I think there is nothing good that could result from my son’s death, I must remember Romans 8: 28. “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”
And when I feel like God has been unloving, I must meditate on 1 John 4:19. “We love each other because He loved us first.”
And when I imagine that God doesn’t hear or answer my prayers, I must be reminded of Psalms 65:1-2, “What mighty praise, O God, belongs to you in Zion. We will fulfill our vows to you, for you answer our prayers. All of us must come to you.”
I could stand and argue all day that a half-inch screw looks like an inch to me. It wouldn’t change the truth. Just because I think something is a certain way, just because something appears a certain way, just because I feel it is a certain way, doesn’t mean it is. Only God has the eternal perspective. Only He knows every day of our lives. (Psalm 139:13-16). Until we get to Heaven, our circumstances may be deceptive. Truth may not be apparent.
So, how will we respond? Do we want to rely upon the way things look or upon the Lover of our souls? Do we want to place our faith in how we feel or at the feet of our Redeemer? Do we base our beliefs on human reasoning or on the authority of the Bible?
Take it from someone who knows by experience. When everything you believe is put to the test, your mind is cloudy, your vision distorted, your sense of right and wrong and love and hate are no longer clear. The only way to know truth is to read, know, and believe God’s Word (John 17:17).
Don’t guess. Use God’s ruler for a clear assessment of whatever circumstances you’re facing today.