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William Blake penned this sentiment and recently the Holy Spirit brought it to mind. I am not sure the exact meaning Mr. Blake meant by it but I interpret it to mean trying to see more than what appears before us. So often we are moved by what we discern from our senses and our emotions. Often this takes us down a path of broken relationships, heartbreak and loss. We can apply this when it comes to others and also to ourselves.
Have you ever faced a situation that challenges you and you are absolutely certain that you are perceiving those circumstances and expectations correctly only to find out later that you were wrong? In the moment our emotions and heart can seem to point us to a path but both these things are used to deceive us. The only thing we can be sure of is His truth.
I once was approached by a dear hearted person who was hurt and truly struggling because of an encounter they had with someone. She was crushed and broken because she was absolutely convinced that this other person was angry and didn’t like her. When I asked what led her to that conclusion she proceeded to share that this person was at an event that she was also at and they never approached them to say hello or talk. It seemed as if the person was even avoiding her. My friend had a long standing friendship with this person but still walked away convinced that she understood correctly that their relationship was on the rocks. Sadly she allowed that perceived offense to break their relationship only to find out years later that this was never the other person’s intent and that there had been no malice in their heart toward her.
Another example from my own life was one such vital lesson. I was reassigned to a new area at work and in the process of trying to get a feel for how the rest of my new team approached their jobs I asked some questions and shared some of the reporting we did in my old area to see if they also did those type of reports and to make sure I learned from them any new duties I should be doing. The team lead who had been newly appointed took immediate offense and thought I was trying to overstep. Of course she never told me this but it led to three of the worst years in my career. No matter what I did to try and be helpful etc it was always met with anger and hatred. I know that sounds intense and believe it really was that bad. I was repeatedly accused of things and reported to our supervisors, lies where told and so much more. Everything in me was offended and convinced that this person hated me and we would never see improvement in our work relationship. Finally God spoke to my heart that I needed to love this person because she was His daughter even if she didn’t know it yet. At this point I was so wounded and so convinced that by looking at this one grain of sand that I understood that situation so accurately I honestly have to admit that I hated this person. But God said to love her and I was completely confused. I finally confessed to God that I had no idea how to love her and that He would have to show me how. God took that grain of sand and took my perspective and completely changed me. She didn’t change but God changed me. He showed me so much more than one grain of sand. He showed me how scared this woman was because she knew she wasn’t ready for the team lead position they put her in. She was so frantically trying to point fingers at me so that no one would look at her. God began to reveal things about her life that truly broke my heart for her. Amazingly I began to have compassion for her and that turned into His love. I prayed for her often that she would be free from trauma, abuse and unworthiness that she was feeling. My heart was heavy with the desire to see her free from all the bondage that she was carrying. So you see the grain of sand I was looking at was really so much more.
As believers we are called to love as He loves. We have to learn to separate our emotions and expectations and stand on His Word of Truth. We have to lay down our “rights” and allow Him to show us so much more than the grain of sand we are seeing but instead to see the whole world as He sees it.