Submitted by Lara Cook
This God–his way is
perfect;the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take
refuge in him. Psalm 18:30
If you stand with your arms spread
out as far as they go on either side of you, from the fingertips on one hand
all the way around the front of you to the fingertips on the other hand is 180
degrees, a half circle. What if we never
looked beyond the 180 degrees that goes from one side of our body to the
other? What if we only saw what was
right in front of our face and never stretched just a little further to see
what was beyond that 180 degrees? This
is our peripheral vision and also can symbolize our comfort zone.
Living life outside 180 degrees
I heard a police officer once talk
about training his officers on the gun range.
Normally on a gun range your working space is from shoulder to shoulder
for safety reasons. Everything happens
in front of you – down range. This
officer said that when he was working one on one with his officers on the range
– just the two of them out there – he would let them shoot 180 degrees but he
stood behind them to make sure that they did not go further than 180 degrees to
ensure his own safety. This was
necessary for safety on the range, but in real life of course officers have to
be aware of what is happening in the entire 360 degrees around their body. Life happens outside 180 degrees. For the
police, they have to be aware that sometimes the bad guys sneak up behind.
As Christians, I think we tend to
live our lives within 180 degrees. We
only pay attention to what we see right in front of our faces or we only serve
within our comfort zone. If we have to
turn around, stretch our necks or reach a little further, we are out. Sometimes there are things going on behind
you – within the 360-degree range – that God wants you to see.
Just as a police officer must
think about what is happening outside 180 degrees, what is behind them, what is
coming that they may not be aware of, as Christians, we also need to be aware
of what is behind us, and guard ourselves against Satan’s attacks. Even more we also need to think about what we
might be missing by not living beyond 180 degrees. What does God have waiting for us if we just
reach a little further? What blessing
are we missing by just living fingertip to fingertip? Turn around, look behind, stretch a little, stick your neck out there! You may be missing great blessings by not
trusting, by not being willing to move outside your peripheral vision, outside
your comfort zone, outside 180 degrees.
Scripture to Claim:
Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully
with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. 1 Samuel 12:24
