Existing Beyond our 3' World
I write romance as an escape from my testosterone-filled life. With three boys, I’ve watched a lot of action shows. One we have almost finished is Seal Team. In the show, Bravo 1, the captain of the SEAL team, talks about existing in his three-foot world when he’s in battle. The three-foot world is a concept of mental toughness in which a person focuses on tangible tasks within their reach and control, rather than on the chaos of battle or being overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation.
This three-foot world concept has been incorporated into counseling for anxiety with great results. It’s similar to the saying, how do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. While I’ve used this technique, its limiting view is like choosing to doggie-paddle in the middle of the ocean when there’s a lifeboat patiently waiting to rescue you. This method ignores that we have access to an infinite, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, and miracle-working God.
I love the disciples because their mistakes help me understand God's patience and love for me. They witnessed many of Jesus’s miracles, but when problems arose, their thought processes remained within the constraints of their human, three-foot world.
Thousands of people traveled far to hear Jesus speak at the Sermon on the Mount. Three days passed, while they listened to Jesus, and the crowd hadn’t eaten. The disciples, being good planners, saw a dilemma forming and attempted to problem solve. From their three-foot world perspective, five thousand people were impossible to feed and would overwhelm any local inns or town’s hospitality in feeding visitors, so they asked Jesus to send the crowd away.
The disciples forgot that they were speaking to the Man for whom the Bible states that “the earth is His footstool” (Isaiah 66:1). Instead of sending the people home, Jesus multiplied one boy’s bread and fish to feed a multitude.
Jesus was sleeping in the bow of a boat when His disciples felt the wind's whip pick up. Dark, ominous clouds rolled in, and the waves began to overtake the boat. The disciples woke Jesus and asked him to save them from drowning. I think, from their three-foot world, the disciples meant for Jesus to help row or bail out water, because after Jesus stilled the waves and calmed the storms, the awed disciples said, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!” (Matthew 8:27)
Judas, in his three-foot world, had grown tired of waiting. Jesus was supposed to be crowned king, and Judas was going to ride His coattails. Judas decided to control what he believed was in his power. He’d been patient long enough, so he sold out his Savior for thirty pieces of silver.
The disciples had watched their Lord be tortured, nailed to a cross, and die. Distraught, they hid together, fearing the Roman soldiers and Sanhedrin would come for them next. Jesus was supposed to rule. He was supposed to save them, but He had been crucified. All seemed lost—literally, hope had died.
From their three-foot world, the disciples could never have imagined that the gravestone would be rolled away, and that after three days, Jesus would rise from the dead, breaking death's hold over mankind. But we have an all-powerful God. Neither the earth nor hell can contain our strategic and mighty God.
Even in our three-foot world, we can pray. We have direct access to the One who made heaven and earth. God is more than able. His arm is never too short. God is a God of miracles, and nothing is impossible for Him. Not even overcoming death.
Praise be to God and Happy Resurrection Day!
