We have all heard someone
described as “He (or she, to be fair) can’t see the forest for the trees.” It is a description of someone who is so
focused on the various individual things that they can’t see the big picture. They don’t have a clue or are so strictly
focused on the parts that they don’t see the whole picture. Then there are people who get all the way
down into what is going on around them that they don’t see the trees because of
all the leaves that keep blocking the view of what the pesky leaves are
obscuring. We have all had the
experience of being with and dealing with people like these. It would be like going to the Grand Canyon
with them. While you are taking in and
enjoying the whole experience, the awesome views, a tree person would want to
focus on the various strata, the individual layers and not see them are part of
the whole. A leaf person would be
focused on singular part, like looking at a strata and analyzing or gazing at
it part by part, like picking a certain section that varies or a large boulder
that disturbs the strata lines. Each one
comes away with a difference and, if asked, would say they had a good
time. The forest person would have
enjoyed the beauty and wonder of God’s creation. The other two missed the whole experience
because they refused to look or were so wrapped up in their focus that they
didn’t see the picture of God’s creation.
On a personal level, it would be
like a married couple who, one or both, have an outside interest, activity, or
hobby they enjoy. Nothing is wrong with
that. Couples don’t have to have the
same interests. Each can certainly do or
have an interest or hobby and enjoy those experiences as well. But when the interests start consuming more
and more time and attention, the beauty of the marriage and the sum of its
parts don’t add up to a whole. As the
marriage forest fades away because of a focus on something else, the trees
block the view of something special.
Perhaps there are gaps in the trees so the whole can be glimpsed. However, when the activity becomes all
consuming, the trees disappear and the sole focus is on the activity. It went from marriage to time-robbing actions
to the leaves that blocked everything out.
And remember, leaves fall, the trees become bare, and the forest, and
marriage beauty, is lost.
God sees it all. He sees the leaves, the trees, and the
forests. His is an all-inclusive sight. We are given the gift by God of seeing the
wonders of what we do here and what will come.
We see the beauty of God’s promise, eternity with him. However, the enemy can turn us in his
direction by moving our focus a little at a time. For instance, let’s say you are going to
church every Wednesday night. Many
people do, to pray, worship God and learn.
What Satan would do gradually is change your participation. Over time, Wednesday night church becomes an
habit instead of a choice. On a question
of what you doing that night, you might say,
“We go to church every Wednesday night.” It became a habit, a duty, an opportunity rather than to pray and worship. Over time, it would lose some of it is draw
and it was “okay” to skip it occasionally, until that too became the
habit. And Satan would have won another
round. The forest had receded, the trees
faded, and the leaves lost their attraction.
God has seen all of this,
countless times. So, what can, or will,
you do about it? Be aware of how and
when and where you worship. I’m not
saying you have to go to a Wednesday service.
What you do have to do is be aware of how you worship. Be aware of
Satan’s attempts to get you to stop working with God and worship him instead.
So, take a look at yourself and
your relationship with God. If you
worship and pray in a particular way, then be conscious of Satan’s wiles and
efforts to change that, to lessen that.
The question, therefore, is are
you maintaining your connection with God, are you doing what you can to
strengthen it, to defend it? There are
many positive ways to do these. It is
okay to change how we worship God, just so long as we don’t fall into the traps
Satan has set.
Remember, God conquers all, but it
is up to us to use his strength, his grace, to be on the winning side and receive
our eternal reward.
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