Silver Linings
“Every cloud has a silver lining.” Do you agree with that statement? I do. Sitting in my living room this afternoon, if I look to the right it appears cold, dark, cloudy, even snowy off in the distance. However, if I turn to the left, I observe another image; there are blue skies, with fluffy white clouds on the horizon. How can things appear so distinctly different from my vantage point when glancing in opposite directions?
I came to the conclusion that it is a matter of perspective. To the east, there probably is snow coming down on the mountains, but if I look closely, the clouds to the west are on the move, quickly gliding across the window panes, ushering in another weather pattern. It is my choice--do I want to focus on the storms or the blue skies?
In our lives we usually have both blue skies and storms brewing at the same time just as the view from my window. Here also I have a choice as to where my focus rests. I can decide to look at the ugly situations going on around me—the pain, the hurt, the trials, the unkindness, the grief, the sorrow... you get the picture. But in the midst of these problems there are also blue skies; God may choose to send the perfect person, a special Bible verse, a kind act, a letter at just the right time, or some other thing to encourage us in our tough times. No matter how bleak the setting seems God always has something for us to take delight in if we are determined to find it.
Now I am not trying to say that we should just look at life through rose colored glasses and ignore the hurts, but I am saying that as we trust in God and His goodness we can see more easily the silver linings or the things He brings our way to ease the painful circumstances we are experiencing. We can also look forward to the time when we understand how He used the situation for good in our life and the lives of others.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him who have been called according to His purpose.
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