Whose Perspective Do We Have?
Maybe I’m seeing it all wrong. Maybe I’m fulfilling exactly what God intends for today, and I simply need to adjust my perspective.
How must God feel about my perspective on my circumstances? Does He smile because I see them through His eyes? Or does He grieve because I see them through a limited, human lens?
Take today, for instance. I have a lengthy to-do list because we’ve been out of town for fourteen days this month. I’ve been waiting all weekend to attack this list, outlining my week’s schedule so I can meet deadlines. Trouble is, I woke this morning with a bronchial bug of some sort.
A couple hours later, a phone call came, telling me about the death of a family friend. A wonderful unplanned Skype call with a missionary friend from Romania followed. Then an unexpected business call sent me down a two-hour detour. And so it goes.
Seeing things through human eyes
Looking through my human lens, I see I haven’t deleted a single item from my well-organized to-do list. The lack of checkmarks make me feel like I haven’t accomplished anything today. But maybe I’m seeing it all wrong. Maybe I’m fulfilling exactly what God intends for today, and I simply need to adjust my perspective. Can you relate?
Having God’s perspective is so important. I see that in Matthew 16:22-23 where Peter reprimanded Christ for talking about His upcoming death.
“Heaven forbid, Lord…this will never happen to you,” he said.
How did Jesus respond?
“Jesus turned to Peter and said, ‘Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.’”
Seeing things through God’s eyes
Yikes! Those are strong words. It’s obvious that Jesus isn’t impressed when we allow our human perspective to overrule God’s purposes. He’d much rather we see life through God’s eyes because doing so enables us to fully engage in what He’s doing.
How about you?
What circumstances are you dealing with right now? As you think about them, ask yourself whose perspective you have.
If you’re seeing them from a human point of view, invite God to tweak your sight.
As I look at my to-do list with its lack of checkmarks, I think I’d better do that right now.
Know you are loved,
Grace
My kids (ages 1, 4, 6) have been sick on and off for the last week. We are almost recovered but the runny noses and aches and pains are still there. This was not on the agenda! I can relate very well to your post and am encouraged by it – thank you!
Sooooo many things can interfere with our to-do lists! The challenge is learning to deal with them without treating them like irritating interruptions. My oh my. May God give us a spirit of grace and patience and peace 🙂