Forest For the Trees

“Can’t see the forest for the trees” is used when describing a person who cannot see a situation they are in as it truly is, instead they get lost in the details of it, and lose perspective on the bigger issue. In other words, one who gets blinded by a situation they are fully involved in.

In Acts 26 Paul gives testimony to his conversion experience on the road to Damascus, which can be found in Acts 8 and 9. In giving the testimony he says the following words in these verses. And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting.16 Now get to your feet! For I have appeared to you to appoint you as my servant and witness. Tell people that you have seen me, and tell them what I will show you in the future.17 And I will rescue you from both your own people and the Gentiles. Yes, I am sending you to the Gentiles18 to open their eyes, so they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. Then they will receive forgiveness for their sins and be given a place among God’s people, who are set apart by faith in me.’

Paul is showing those in that work that his conversion was a change of heart and yes a definite change of direction. Paul before conversion could not see the clarity of the gospel and the true identity of Jesus, as the Messiah. His lacking was found in his tunnel vision religious beliefs and those beliefs had his heart bent against the Word of God and not for it. So Jesus, being who Jesus is, met him on the road to Damascus and "rocked his world." So much so, that Paul's life mission was to be poured out as a vessel to share the message of the gospel. He believed so much in the gospel that he wrote in Romans 1: 16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile. The Good News is the power of God at work? That's what he said and he knew firsthand all about the ability of the power of God to change lives because it changed his!

Paul couldn't "See the Forest for The Trees!" His religious upbringing and religious zeal for the law could not be broken through in a conventional manner, but Jesus had great plans and a new anointing for this man called Saul. Paul's eyes were opened to what God wanted and he that was lost in the forest began to see real trees. The first tree saw was his sin, as we all do, and then he saw God's forgiveness and grace. Then he realized God's specific call or anointing on his life and everything changed. It is amazing for us to think that God has a plan for our lives and then we think that the plan is not that specific. But it is! This is called "God's Will" and we must make a commitment to follow that will in a very specific way.

Don't doubt God He can do very specific things in your life and take you to heights you never thought possible. God even intervenes in our lives at a specific time and gives us a new anointing to follow His will and His ways. The question for us is "Are we open to following God in that very specific way" even though it is a very different change of plans than what we were thinking.

When Jesus came to Paul with this new direction for his life it all began with life change and then his life began to really come alive and he morphed into a "sacrificing servant!" Are you willing to take your eyes off the forest and begin to look at the trees and see a very specific plan for your life as generated by the God of the universe? If so, then hang on and get ready for Jesus to "rock your world" and the journey begins. Some trees that have to be seen are the following.l .1. Be firm in your faith and know that you have been born again in the Spirit. Without this new birth, you will miss heaven, and the direction of God in your life will be meaningless. 2. Become a student and follower of the Word of God. The life from our study of scripture leads us into the mysteries of God and you are going to need those mysteries to be revealed to you. 3. Ask God in prayer to show you how to pray and what to pray and pray in the Spirit. Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

4. Then ask the Spirit to guide you in your walk and a natural growth in your faith will take place. Be open to what God is trying to show you and know that His ways are higher than our ways at every turn. Romans 8:9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.)10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.

Paul had companions that he had introduced into this Spirit-filled and they were willing to join with him in proclaiming the gospel and made it their life mission too. When you begin to see the deeper will of God for your life it will affect others and they will begin to pick out trees in their life-forest and the call moves forward some more. Age is not a factor in all of this, but following the leading of the Holy Spirit is and you must be in deep conversations with God in prayer about it all. We live in a world of very religious people and like Paul, we can be deceived into thinking the law, or what we can in our life, is the way to go. But Paul said this in Romans 8: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death.3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature.[c] So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body, God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit. According to the above verses our lives are to be led by the Holy Spirit and not by man's impression about what religion is the right one. We follow Christ and in that, we follow the Holy Spirit. Who are you following? A person? A movement built around a person? Or are you following the Holy Spirit? Time to realize that maybe you can't see. the forest for the trees. Here we go......

The Pilgrimage Continues

David Warren