Perspective

Psalm 63:1 (NLT)

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a parched and weary land. In this life there will be trials, there will be difficulties, and there will be challenges. All the adversity that we face merely lets us know that we are still living. We live, we learn, and we grow through our tough times. There is, however, a perspective that will ensure that we are not consumed by our trials.

When we focus on the almighty God, we can endure the storms in peace. We know that all things are working out for our benefit, if we love God and are called according to His purpose. Like David, we must throw our entire beings into the pursuit of God. Pain is real, the struggle is real, disappointments are real, and no one has a right to tell you otherwise; however, God is MORE real. He has the power to bring you through whatever you may have to suffer.

Make up in your mind that you will chase God above all else, and you will find that the anxiety, worry, and stress lessen almost immediately. I know that God is greater than everything else, so I can rest calmly in Him. Although I am in this parched and weary land, I know that God will provide the water I need to survive. I relentlessly pursue my God; I can’t let up, and I can’t give up. In His presence is the fullness of joy, and that is where I want to be.

Don't Discount My Struggle

As I learn and grow, I find that I have been guilty of dismissing experiences to which I can't relate. We all have our own path to travel. We all have different lessons to learn at different stages of life. What it took for you to know Christ may not be what it took for me to know Christ. Does that make either of our experiences less valuable?

My struggle may not look like much compared to yours, but it was still a struggle for me. Maybe I could have overcome your trouble in 15 seconds, but it wasn't mine to overcome. It was yours, and God had a lesson in it specifically for you. We need to stop allowing people with "bigger testimonies" to intimidate us into silence. Your testimony is just as important to the Kingdom as the next person's. Being cured of cancer is no greater than being cured of acid reflux, if that's what you're suffering with. A miracle is still miraculous.

Someone needs to know that God can be trusted with everything we may face. God cares that it's picture day, and you have Mt. Vesuvius on your forehead. Nothing is too small, nothing is too great. People will roll their eyes when Sister Nobody testifies of being late to work and missing an 8-car accident on her route. They will clap a little and dismiss that as mere coincidence, but the church will go bananas over Deacon Somebody receiving an all-clear from the doctor. Both testimonies are about God's grace and mercy. Both testimonies point to God's faithfulness. Both testimonies should be told.

We need to celebrate each other's victories, no matter how different they are. We must rejoice with those who rejoice, supporting and caring for one another. It doesn't matter that our experiences differ; we are on the Lord's side, and that makes us family. We should not be placing levels of importance on each other's struggles because we are all imperfect people. 

But Now My Eye Sees You!

I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5-6 ESV)

At some point in your walk with the Lord, you will have to see Him for yourself. Knowing who He is by faith is great, but experiencing who He is in your life is inescapable. If your desire is to truly know Him, you will have to go through something. You can't just keep hearing the testimony of others, but you need to have a testimony to share with others.

No matter how much you try to empathize with someone, until you've been there, you just can't know. As Job is saying here, we have heard of God and trusted in Him, but when we actually see Him for ourselves, we see how ridiculously inadequate our measurement was. To say you know God to be a healer when a doctor has never scratched his head over your case isn't quite right. You know God CAN heal, but do you personally know Him as a healer? 

We will all have our faith tested in one area or another. It doesn't mean your faith is weak; it means God wants to develop His relationship with you. Will you be willing to repent of what you thought you knew, and accept what God shows you with your own eyes? When God Himself challenges your finite wisdom, will you humbly submit and learn what He is teaching you? When bad things happen, are you looking for the cause, or are you looking for God?

Honor Him for Honoring You!

Psalm 8 (NLT)

1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
    to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
    and all who oppose you.

3 When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
4 what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
7 the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
8 the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

9 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

Just take some time to meditate on this song. God has given us a place of honor in His creation, and we have squandered it. What can we do to bring honor to Him with our lives?

Such Were Some of You

1 Corinthians 6:11(NASB) Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

 

Don’t forget where you came from. The same grace that found you in the pit can lift someone else up out of their pit. All the self-righteous, religious babble in the world won’t change the fact that you didn’t save yourself.  As a matter of fact, the Bible speaks of our righteousness being as filthy rags in God’s presence (Isaiah 64:6). In and of ourselves we are less than worthless, so what gives us the right to turn our noses up and look down them at someone still in his struggle?

 

We sometimes need to remind ourselves that we are in need of God’s grace everyday just like the next person. What separates us from the sinner is solely our acceptance of the everlasting life that Jesus Christ offers. We cannot earn salvation, nor will we ever be worthy of it on our own. Maybe you aren’t a drug addict, but you’re a liar. Maybe you aren’t a prostitute, but you like pornography. Truth be told, we all struggle with something at some point in our lives – even when we are saved.

 

If you think about the grace it took for God to look past your faults, you would be more willing to offer grace to the people with whom you come into contact every day. I often say that it isn’t so much about what Jesus would do, but it’s about what He DID do. His gift is available to everyone who will receive it. That means you, me, and the world. We were no better than what we would consider the worst sinner when Christ’s love found us. We owe the Lord praise for rescuing us, and we owe our fellow man grace because we’ve been rescued.

I Will Not Be Shaken

Psalm 16:8 (NASB) I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

I tend to worry about things over which I have absolutely no control. What does my worry accomplish? Nothing. There are situations in life that we are helpless to change, but if we keep our eyes on the Lord, we can get through them. There is nothing that catches God by surprise. He is using all of my experiences, good and bad, to shape me into the woman He wants to use.

 

When I am facing my Goliath, I can stand sure-footed and courageous because God is with me. I don’t have to tremble before my circumstances because I have set the Lord before me. He stands in between me and everything that would destroy me. I get weak, I admit. Sometimes I may have a melt-down or two, but then I remember that mountains melt like wax before my God! The same God who stilled the sun in the sky for Joshua will never forsake me.

 

No matter what comes my way, God is already there. His plan for me is perfect, although some of the pieces might baffle me. He makes use of every disappointment, every hurt, every obstacle, and every tear to draw me closer to my destiny in Christ. Nothing I experience is worthless. If I change my perspective to see God working (set the Lord continually before me), I will not be shaken.

Life is Fleeting

Psalm 39:4-5 (NLT)

“Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
    Remind me that my days are numbered—
    how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
    My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
    at best, each of us is but a breath.”

On any given day we may feel anywhere from vulnerable to invincible. Nonetheless, those feelings are temporary. Anytime we focus on what we do not, cannot, and will never control, we are wasting what precious little time we have. Sometimes we need a reminder that life is just too short.  Our days are numbered by God; He’s the only one who knows how many we have left.

Happiness is a choice. You have to choose to rejoice in the day that the Lord has made. Focus on those things that matter in eternity, not those temporal frustrations of life. Things are going to happen in this life that upset us, but how we react to those things is something we can control. Let’s not ruin our days with negativity. When you wake up in the morning, know that God has a purpose for your life that day.

Learn to thank God throughout all the ups and downs because He has a greater perspective of your life than you ever could. He sees the whole thing in an instant – beginning to end. He knows what it’s going to take to get you through it. The lessons you learn today will help you tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day…until the end. Take it all in stride, trust God, and know that it won’t last always.