The Big picture

I was driving past a beautiful Scottish countryside and had to stop to admire that beauty. I stopped my car overlooking a vast lush green field. The sheep’s were like tiny white patch from distance and they seemed to enjoy the green pasture. I took my camera to take a picture of this beautiful field. When I saw the picture I was surprised to see that the field was bit dull in comparison to the glorious sky filled with the radiance of the sun. The sky looked very beautiful which I didn’t realise until I saw the picture. I was too focussed on the field and the sheep’s grazing in the field.

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This is when God reminded me that sometimes we forget to look at the big picture how God is working in our lives but so consumed by the details of life. When we focus on the details of life we will get concerned with every single failures and disappointments. Nehemiah is a great example in the scripture who kept his eyes on the big picture. When he was given an offer for negotiations with his enemies he replied saying “I am carrying on a GREAT PROJECT and cannot go down.” He kept his eyes on the GREAT PROJECT. He knew he is part of the big picture God has planned for him. He was not ready to go down. He was not ready to get distracted. He was not ready to go backward. When you are involved in God’s great project always look at the big picture. Don’t get too concerned at a single failure or a setback. Your life is a sum total of several failures, disappointments, setbacks, joys, surprises, breakthroughs and successes. If you keep focussing on a single failure or disappointment or setbacks you will fail to see the surprises, breakthroughs and successes that comes your way.

God wants you to keep your eye on the big picture. Don’t get stagnant or go backward because of a single failure or inconvenience you are facing. See how God has led you in the past and keep moving forward. Few months back God asked me to surrender the ministry we were part of and wait on him. It was a difficult decision but we did obey God. It was a lot of change for us to become quiet after a very busy period of ministry. It was a lot of inconvenience for me. It was at that time God blessed us with a miracle of second baby as my wife became pregnant defeating all odds without requiring any medical help. But my inconvenience became worse as my wife often got sick and I was unable to attend even churches on sunday. I was slighty getting annoyed at this season of my life. One day when I was driving past my street I came across a sign board that said

“Road work starts here for next 6 weeks. Expect delays.”

Immediately God reminded me about the verse in Philippians that said,

“ It is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose.”

God said to me “I want to give you a GREAT ministry and family. Therefore I need to start a GREAT PROJECT in your life. So expect disruptions and inconvenience”.

Always remember that God is working in your life. You are part of a GREAT PROJECT. Look at the big picture and never go down or backward because of the disruptions you are facing.

Noah was a great example. God gave a big assignment to Noah. To build a ship and to take and feed all kinds of animals is not an easy task.

These are some of the numbers in the construction of the ship Titanic.

26 months – the length of time it took to build the RMS Titanic, from keel to launch.
15,000 – the approximate number of men employed at the peak of the building work.
3,000 – the approximate number of these men employed in the construction of the Titanic, representing around 20% of the workforce.
8 – the number of construction workers killed during the build, from keel laying to launch.
246 – the number of injuries recorded during the build.
20 – the number of horses needed to transport the main anchor.

Therefore to build an ark by a 4 men team must have been a daunting task. It would have taken a lot of trust and faith by Noah to keep his eyes on the big picture and not get discouraged. Whenever he got discouraged he must have reminded himself that he is involved in a GREAT PROJECT. There might have been days where he felt he was going nowhere when people ridiculed him. There might have been days when he felt that he was not going to complete this project. There might have been days when he might have felt inadequate, weak, lacking in skill and helpless. But that wouldn’t have changed the fact that he was part of God’s great project. It was not about Noah’s weakness, lack of skill or inadequacy but it was all about his calling to be part of God’s big project.

May be you are facing setbacks and discouragements in your calling. May be you are in this phase of disruption where God is working in your life to enlarge your territory. It is at these times you need to remind yourself of the big picture and keep going. You cannot afford to stop or go backward because you are part of God’s big picture. You need to learn to say like Nehemiah “I am carrying on a great project. I cannot go down.”

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2 Responses

  1. You are exactly right, Davidson. God’s GREAT works always begin at home… right inside us! Imagine if Nehemiah had refused to dig, or move rock, or climb ladders because it would be uncomfortable, hot, tiring and he might get dirty! The wall would still have been broken down. But as he submitted to and became wholly committed to the work before Him, a great miracle occurred that changed the lives of countless people. For us today, we must realize that the longer we resist God’s efforts in us, the longer we put off the goal He has in mind to do through us. Thanks for this post! I am going to remember it every time I see a “road work” sign!

  2. Yes, we need to trust God to take us step by step into the big picture, the big project that He has for us. We do not have to understand everything, we just need to be obedient in what God is showing us and refuse to get distracted.

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