The things which are not seen are eternal

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While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18 Yesterday I went hiking with my husband and two of our kids, it was a beautiful day and the forest was lovely. We brought the puppies with us. When we arrived at the top of Great Hill, I could see through a small opening in the trees, a gorgeous view which included the awesome NH mountains and lakes, but when I turned back around to look at where we had come from...just woods, trees and trail. We sat at the base of the fire tower refreshing with a drink of water, then we moved about to get a better glimpse of the view through the openings in the trees. Then, after resting from our hike it was time to climb the tower. 

Guess what, at the top of the tower, there was a 360 degree view. Mountains and lakes as far as the eye could see. Little did we know when we were resting below that  just above our heads was a full perspective view of where we were.

360 view
360 view

This got me thinking about this passage from 2 Corinthians 4:18. It says "While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."

How often do we focus on the things which are seen when God sees the whole picture? How often do we focus on the trials at hand when God has the whole situation in the palm of His hands? How often do we attempt to move about from side to side to get a better glimpse of the view instead of trusting Him, who has the 360 degree perspective?

God wants us focused on Him, not on the view ahead. The view ahead can sometimes look great, yet from our limited vantage point, we can't see the whole picture. If we could see the whole picture we'd see trials coming from each side and even the path which we have walked in the past which might pull us back and slow down our growth.

Focus on Him who knows you best, for only He has the 360 view. For "the things which are not seen are eternal."