Have you noticed that your perspective on an event has a significant impact on how you view it and experience it? This also is the case with how God sees events in my life and how I see them. His perspective can be very different from mine. This reminder hit me when I was reading about the people in the wilderness. In Ex. 19:3-4 it says,

“Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself.”

When I read that, I assumed that if God brought his people to himself at Mount Sinai on eagles wings, that meant it was an easy ride. That picture brings to my mind an easy transition without problems. The eagle in a sense swooped in and carried them effortless to God’s presence at Sinai.

As John Hannah states,

“God compared His delivering the people out of Egypt, across the Red (Reed) Sea, and to Sinai to His carrying them on eagles’ wings (cf. Deut. 32:10–11). When young eagles are learning to fly, the mother eagle flies under them with her wings spread out to catch them.”

My human perspective of the transition of the Jews from Egypt does not correlate with the hard reality of their journey. The previous chapters described the plagues and the crossing of the Red Sea when it looked as though the Egyptian army was going to destroy them. It also included the complaining of the people because they had no water and no meat and they were thirsty and famished. It was anything but an easy journey from the Jewish perspective. It took great effort and endurance for the Jews to get to Mount Sinai. And yet, God said from his view, it was as though he carried them on eagles wings to himself.  He is the one who humbled the Egyptians and miraculously met every need of the Jews on their journey to him.

The Jews saw the hard road they took and the sacrifice required to get to God. In God’s mind, the journey was easy since he is in complete control of all things. The concerns of the Jews were not concerns of God because he was fully able and willing to take care of them. In the heat of the moment, the Jews forgot the greatness of their God, focused on the challenges at hand and lost perspective!

Father, I need to remember to try to see life from your perspective. I can get caught in the daily challenges of faithfulness and you see it as a path that can be tread because of your enabling. That does not mean it will be easy for me, but it is doable with simple faith and obedience. Help me to focus on you and your promises so that I can live above my circumstances.

Following Jesus with you,

Jeff