Rise Above

My favorite seat in the airplane is the window seat. I know it’s not the most convenient seat in the airplane for getting around, but that’s a small price to pay for the view out the window. There is just nothing like looking down on entire cities, lakes or mountain ranges. If I’m lucky, I can even spot my own house on the way in or out of the airport. Even at that lower altitude, I can see my whole neighborhood in one glance. I know that neighborhood. There always seems to be some sort of drama. Of course, I am intimately aware of the craziness originating from my own home! I also love catching up with the young family down the street with all the joys and challenges of raising children. The other day I saw the ambulance visit a different house around the block. I pray outside that house each time I walk the dog.

As I peer out my little window in the skies, I get such a unique perspective. In one glance I see all the homes, each with their own cares and concerns, yet they all seem to blend together into a single image of humanity with all its beauty and suffering. Down below, it’s all so overwhelming. So many households, so many concerns. I can’t even handle all my own issues, let alone the ones of even a handful of neighbors. As my neighborhood shrinks into the distance, it occurs to me that my perspective has been too small. My myopic preoccupation with myself can blind me to the fact that we all have problems. We all have worries. We all need God.

Maybe this is why the majestic views from mountaintops were so revered in the Bible, or why the flight of an eagle inspired the desire for a God-like perspective. The end of Isaiah 40 is a prime example. “Do you not know? Have you not heard?” It’s as if the people were so mired in their anxiety ridden, low-altitude perspective that they lost sight of God altogether. Vainly using their own strength to address their already overwhelmed situation left them “faint” and “powerless.” The solution is to rise above. We put our trust in the One who sees the big picture, who also happened to create the big picture. His eternal wisdom allows us to “soar on wings like eagles” with strength not our own.

I suddenly realize my window seat above the clouds requires a similar kind of trust. There are many steps required to board an airplane, but none more significant than the one from the jet bridge into the airplane. With one step, I am totally dependent on the wings of that airplane and the wisdom of the pilot to lift that bird into the great expanse above. I don’t have the strength to do that alone. Yet there from my window seat, I benefit from the perspective that comes from trusting wings and wisdom far beyond my ability.

I suppose that’s kind of what it’s like to trust in God. It’s relying on His wisdom and soaring with His wings. As long as I’m adamant to maintain the notion of control of my own life with all its overwhelming troubles, I’m sure to “stumble and fall.” Trusting God requires a release of control with all the perceived risk that comes along with it. The result? We soar on wings uplifted by His mighty strength and power. We rise above and we don’t grow weary, as we’re carried by His grace.