The view from up there
by Verena Johnson
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‘Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved’ (Psalm 80:19).
Israel was going through some pretty tough times when they were being ravaged by a foreign power. This psalm is a lament and an agonised cry to God to save them.
The refrain, ‘Restore us, Lord God Almighty; make your face shine on us, that we may be saved’, is repeated three times in this psalm. It’s a familiar refrain to any of us who have been through or are going through tough times.
I remember one time when I had to fly interstate for work. When the plane took off, it was dark and stormy; rain was beating down on the windows, and the wind was buffeting the plane. We had a very bumpy take-off, and there were quite a few white knuckles, for instance, on the very nervous passenger seated next to me.
Then, all of a sudden, we burst through the clouds into a clear blue sky and bright sunshine. There was an audible sigh of relief and some applause. The passenger next to me was like a new woman. Everything had changed, even though the storm below was still going on. It was hard to believe that this was the same day that we’d taken off. It was all so different from up there above the clouds.
We don’t have to plead for God to shine his face on us; he already is. But, sometimes, we can’t see it or feel it because the clouds of our circumstances and the storms of life get in the way and block him from our view. That doesn’t change the fact that he still there. He is always there to save us and restore us, whether it feels like it or not.
He wants to lift us above the clouds. Our life and circumstances look quite different from up there, from his perspective. Even though the storm might still be going on, everything is changed when we see the brightness of his face and rest in the warmth of his love.
Dear God, thank you that your face is always shining on us and that you are always there to save and restore us. Please help me to always look to you. Lift me above the storms and tough times that I experience and help me to see them from your perspective. Amen.
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