**God has really been dealing with me about my perspective, my outlook, lately. It really is a constant thing that I am wrestling with.**
I looked up the definition of perspective on www.dictionary.com and there were 8 different meanings to the word but the ones that stood out to me are:
“the state of one’s ideas, the facts known to one, etc.; in having a meaningful interrelationship”
“the faculty of seeing all the relevant data in a meaningful relationship”
“a mental view or prospect”
Our perspective is our point of view, how we view the world. As a Christian, we aren’t too look at the world like we used to. We are to see the world through the eyes of Christ, from a heavenly realm.
No, we aren’t to look down at people, to feel superior to others. That’s not what I am trying to say, although it could be misconstrued that way.
The Bible says that we are “raised up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:6)
We are to be seated with Him in the heavens so that we can see His view – His perspective – on any given situation. His view is the best kind of view because He sees everything – the beginning, middle and the end. He doesn’t see the little details but the big picture.
God’s view is the end result.
Because He already knows every situation that will come along that will position us to make a decision AND He already knows what we will decide. We just need to trust in making the decision that will glorify God.
That means that we may not always make the easy choice or the popular choice.
An example of that from my own life was when I decided to go to China last year. It wasn’t even so much a decision as an acknowledgment that it was something that God wanted me to do.
I’d never been out of the country before – not even to Canada and that’s only about a 6 hour drive from my hometown(!). Not only was I going to go half way around the world when I’d never been out of the country before but I was going to a country that isn’t exactly Christian-friendly. Yikes!
I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before here but my mom and sister weren’t exactly excited for me. In fact, my mom almost didn’t allow me to move home. (I had to move back to my parents house just prior to leaving. And I have a great church family. There were 3 couples, including my pastor and his wife, who offered for me to stay with them.)
My China story is only an example of seeing the big picture and not just the little details.
Because I could have obsessed about the fact that China isn’t exactly safe for Christians. I could have freaked out about the fact that I had to travel on a plane for 20+ hours each way(!).
But I didn’t.
My only focus was that God had a plan for my trip.
I was really affected by that trip and I a year later, I’m still affected.
Unfortunately, I’ve become very focused on the little details instead of the big picture. And I need to get there.
Changing my perspective.
Living a Blessed Life 