A Bug on My Window

Today I watched a tiny insect flutter against the window of my office trying desperately to make progress, but going nowhere. Before he got to my window, I’m sure he had been enjoying the beauty of flying over the grass and through the trees outside. But then he ran up against something that he didn’t understand. His whole little mind was consumed with one thing: make progress towards wherever he was going. He might not have even known fully where he was really headed, but he knew that right now, he wasn’t going anywhere and couldn’t understand why. How frustrating! From my perspective, the solution was simple. Turn around. Go the other way. No matter how hard you push, little guy, you’re not going to get anywhere going the direction that you’re going. Stupid bug… stupid bug……

Stupid bug? Stupid me! How many times have I run up against a sin that I thought I understood, but was really clueless about? My whole mind is consumed with making progress toward becoming closer to and more likeo Jesus, but then smetimes I get trapped. I flutter and flutter, wondering why I’m not making any progress… wondering why I feel so stuck. But God in his infinite perspective sees the big picture and has already told me what to do. “Turn around. Go the other way! No matter how much you think you can move closer to me and bring that sin along, you’re not going anywhere, little buddy…  You’re not going to get any closer to me going in that direction.”

Of course that’s my interpretation of something I think God would say based on what he has already said. But don’t just take my word for it, Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” And Acts 3:19 (taken slightly out of context) says “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.” I think I can find the capacity somewhere in my brain to understand that there are some things that are just too big for me to understand… and that I need to just trust God and his infinite wisdom.

So, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” (Hebrews 12:1b-2a)

Thanks for that reminder, Lord. Now I’m going to think about that every time I see a bug trying to get past a window 🙂