Stepping Back, Stepping In

When a situation seems out of control and perhaps overwhelming, I often try to step back and rise above it. I imaginatively step out of my body and try to think about 'the big picture', like how brief and blessed my part is in the story that began ages ago and continues after I'm gone, and how small my concerns are from the heights of the stars. How little my problems seem compared to the problems of primitive men and how insignificant the wars and anxieties on earth seem from outside our solar system, I think.

And yet, from beyond the reach of our eyes and observational instruments -- indeed, farther back than the beginning of time and higher up than the boundaries of space -- Someone stepped in and came down to stare suffering square in the eyes until it blinked. Though I expand my mind to alleviate the reality of suffering, God shrunk Himself into a body to experience the worst of suffering. I think higher and wider to bear the sight of my situation; God comes lower and closer to deal with my situation.

In my imagination, I must distance myself from the moment when it becomes too intense, but in His magnanimity, God came as close as He could to the most intense moment in human history. Because of my myopia, I step back; because of His mercy, He steps in. While I recede from the fight to catch my breath, He stands in my place, so that I can breathe.

God is not afar but in the details, and 'the big picture' is Thy glory descending from the highest heavens into the darkest valleys to help the helpless. When I become overwhelmed, and look back in time with my eyes closed, and consider the world from my mind's eye, I can't help but see the Cross that You bore on Calvary two-thousand years ago; and I'm thankful that Thy presence came to our feet to raise our bodies to heights our minds could never reach.