The Silver Lining

by Janielle Beh on Saturday, July 30, 2011 at 12:18am

'Don't you give up now,
the sun will soon be shining,
You gotta face the clouds,
To find the Silver Lining.'
-Kutless

I love the song 'What Faith Can Do' by the contemporary Christian band 'Kutless'! That's where those lyrics are from. You gotta face the clouds, to find the silver lining!

On one cloudy and gloomy day, I was tired and gloomy myself. What a dread to face the heavy, grey clouds while walking to school. Ah, but then my perspective changed when I saw a golden tinge outlining the clouds and the warmth of the blessed sun glowing somewhere beyond. Although the clouds were still hanging, and all around me was grey, it heartened me to know that somewhere beyond the sun is still shining.

I remembered the lyrics to the song and started singing. Immediately I felt much better. Sometimes we just need these silent reminders to help us see BEYOND ourselves and beyond the grey and gloomy state we're in. How much more joy and peace will we find if we stop focusing on our petty worries and instead fix our eyes on the things that transcend all these temporal troubles!

If we care to look. If we care to see and listen. If we choose to pause and be silent. Yes, just for a moment. We will realize more often that the challenges we face each day are merely stepping stones in the larger picture that God sees. Why do we not see it?

C.S. Lewis said, 'Time is like a line drawn on a piece of paper. And God is that piece of paper.'

God encompasses past, present and future. He's already there, he's here, he sees it all. WE, on the other hand, are limited by the present. We are that dot, that speck on the line progressing to the next dot to form the continuous line. Humanly speaking, it is unnatural for us to see beyond ourselves, to try to grasp the larger picture. But with God's help we can. I just need to take a step back sometimes. We're often too focused on the little things so much so that we neglect the more important things that will encompass the smaller issues!

How shortsighted are we. How blinded at times by our own petty problems. How hopeless we are if we try to venture out on our own! Even the sun that gives us warmth and life, cannot be controlled by us.

We can command nothing. We can demand nothing. We can only surrender everything, and in that paradoxical act of self-surrender, receive everything that God can and will give those who can see beyond the temporal and are ready to give their all to Him.

~ J a n i e ll e