There is a phenomenon that takes place when a person is in motion. You may have noticed this before; the faster you are moving the more that your field of vision narrows. When stationary we have a 180° horizontal visual field and a 130° vertical visual field, but as you increase in speed your eyes instinctively narrow to what is in front of you. This is a point of focus in many driver’s education classes because many accidents can be avoided with better visual awareness. For example, when you are driving about 60 mph, your horizontal visual field is only 40° (20° to the left and right of our line of sight). That’s a significant reduction. At 60 mph your peripheral field of vision is almost 4 times less than when you are stationary.
Here’s the point I want to make. The faster you go, the less perspective you have. That’s true of when we are driving, but I think that it is also true of life in general. When we rush through life, we lose our perspective. When we are stressed, hurried, and feel the pressures of daily demands, it is easy to lose sight of what is truly important. Some of us have lost our perspective because we are simply going too fast. Sometimes we just need to slow down. God reminds us in Psalm 46:10,
Be still, and know that I am God.
God desires for each of us to have times where we take a break and slow down. God wants us to slow down because it’s good for our souls and it gives God an opportunity to remind us of the way things really are. See if you can be still, it just might instill, that He’s still God. It’s in the stillness we can remind ourselves that God is still in charge and He’s still good. God is still good even when today doesn’t feel good.
As Christians, we do not just live for today. We live for tomorrow. We live with eternity in perspective. For those who follow Jesus, today’s problems are never greater than tomorrow’s joys. It doesn’t matter how tough today is, God can always do something better tomorrow. This is what it means to have hope. If we are rushing through life, we lose sight of that. Remember your circumstances are not greater than your creator. It's easy to get caught in the pressures and demands of today, but sometimes we just need to slow down and broaden our perspective. If you have lost that perspective, take time to be still. Get away from everything else and remember that He is still God.