Lack of Vision

When I get stuck on a project, rarely is it due to a lack of creativity.  

The problem tends to be a lack of vision. And the less I see clearly, the more tightly I cling to the status quo. Yet the solution is often right in front of me if I would just open my eyes…and my hands. 

My refusal to let go of something working against me reminds me of some shortsighted monkeys. Hunters in Africa came up with an ingenious way to capture these wild animals. They put heavy bottles with small openings at the base of trees in the jungle. The hunters then placed a peanut inside each jar, tied a rope around the base of the container, and held on to the other end of the rope as they hid several feet away in the foliage. The trap was set. 

An unsuspecting monkey would come across a bottle, sniff out the snack and thrust his paw inside. The opening was just wide enough for the monkey’s paw to fit in—but not for his peanut-holding fist to come out. The monkey now had a dilemma. The jar was too heavy to turn over or carry away yet there's no way to get the peanut out. The fixation on the prize held him in place. But notice the monkey wasn’t stuck. All he had to do was release his grip and run to freedom. But instead, the monkey refused to let go even as the hunter slowly pulled the rope—and him—to captivity.  

I’m that monkey more often than I care to admit. Perhaps you can relate. Our ironclad grip keeps all of us stuck by keeping our focus on the wrong things. But remember, the problem is a vision problem. When we open our eyes to what God is up to, our grip loosens and our options increase.

If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.  (Proverbs 29:18 The Message)

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