Earthly Eyes or
Heavenly Vision?

The upcoming weekly reflections will center on one central idea: we need to be continually and intentionally considering the greatness of God—the Creator—in comparison to us, His creation.

Both Isaiah 55:8-9 and Romans 11:33-34 remind us that God’s thoughts and ways are not merely a little different from ours. They are vastly different—so much so that we cannot fully comprehend them.

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​"  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." – Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)

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“   Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!   For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" – Romans 11:33-34 (ESV)

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Most of us would probably agree that God’s ways are higher than ours. Do you agree? However, agreeing with this truth and living in light of that truth are two different things. Don’t we need to be continually reflecting on the greatness of God to draw us to the point of impacting how we think, how we make decisions, and how we respond to the circumstances of everyday life?

 

Over the next few months, I’m hopeful that we can walk together down a path of adjusting from seeing our lives with Earthly Eyes to having a Heavenly Vision. This phrase is meant to raise the question of whether we are looking at ‘How do I fit into God’s plans (Heaven looking down)’ or am I looking ‘How does God fit into my plans’ (Earth looking up)? This is not only challenging because of our sinful nature, but the world around us strongly advocates that a ‘me first’ attitude is what will make us happy.

The upcoming weekly reflections will focus on reminding us of the greatness of God and His ways. However, as we walk down this path together, we need to be reminded that we can accumulate a tremendous amount of knowledge about God without allowing that knowledge to change how we see the world. True knowledge of God should shape our perspective, strengthen our faith, and cause us to trust that God’s ways are better than our ways—even when we don't understand them. J.I. Packer captures this beautifully in the following quote from Knowing God:

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“How can we turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God? The rule for doing this is simple but demanding. It is that we turn each Truth that we learn about God into matter for meditation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God.” J.I. Packer , Knowing God

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Personal Reflection – Take time to meditate on God’s greatness and the questions below.

• Do I live like God’s ways are beyond my comprehension?

• Do I truly believe that God knows what will bring me peace and joy better than I do?

• Do I find it challenging to look at my situations with a Heavenly Vision?