Perspective

Ever had really high expectations and have somewhat of a let down? A few days ago my wife and I celebrated our 10th anniversary in Niagara Falls. Our hotel room overlooked the horseshoe falls on the Canadian side. Here is the view from our room …



… quite majestic … and awesome … if I only didn’t have expectations. You know, hype and preconceived ideas are not the best way to approach something as monumental and unique as Niagara. It is also not the best west to approach our Heavenly Father. The scripture says in Isaiah:

“All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imagination”

We often imagine God to be someone or something that he is not. Before traveling east I imagined Niagara to be much bigger than it really was … I was sucked into my own imagination … I envisioned something much taller, much louder and frankly more majestic. At first glance, from my hotel room, I was disappointed because my expectations were not met.

We can, in the same way, be disappointed with God when he does not meet our expectations. We often imagine that he will do something in one manner and he acts in a way contrary to our thinking … and we are disappointed. Possibly our expectations are extra-scriptural … people often come to God in prayer expecting Him to answer according to their imaginations … and they are disappointed.

After the initial letdown my wife and I determined to see and experience the falls up close … after all we couldn’t just stay in our room all day :) Here are a few more pictures … the Maid of the Mist …



… and a view from it’s deck …



… breathtaking … and here is a later picture of the falls from our room:



… did you catch the rainbow … simply beautiful.

You know, when the view changes … when the perspective or content is different … a different dynamic is at play. When I saw the falls from the boat I was able to take in the power of the falls … when I saw the rainbow I was reminded of God’s blessings. A different perspective will often bring us to a new place of appreciation for God’s working in our lives … if we can only get past our expectations and imaginations.