Up Above

When circumstances are uniformly discouraging--whether in the brief disappointment of seeing it rain on a Saturday picnic, the temporary but heavy pain of having to cancel a much-anticipated trip, or the long-term stress of trying to find an elusive job before the savings run out--it's easy to convince ourselves that the pain is the sum of our lives. We expand minor frustrations into proof that nothing ever goes right, and hard times into the firm conviction that things will never get better. And we forget that God works all things together for our good; or we tell Him flat out that we prefer the temporary and obvious good which we could at least enjoy right away. It's hard to appreciate the character that hard times will eventually build, when we're stuck slogging through those hard times minute by minute. Still, complaining doesn't do anything except add to the misery.

As the old saying goes, "When the outlook is bad, try the uplook." Better yet, ask God to give you some of His "up above" perspective and teach you to look down on circumstances.

When the air is dark and the rain pours down,
Still the sky is not truly gray,
For it still shines blue high above the clouds:
Up above is a sunny day.

When the air hangs hot on the valley floor,
The humidity high and cruel,
On the mountain peak you can see afar,
Up above all is fresh and cool.

When the pain of life is a two-ton load
And the weight seems too much to bear,
Raise your cry to God and He'll lift your soul
Up above on the wings of prayer.