As I grow older, I am discovering, that in order to deal
with life better, I need to change my perspective. Towards a lot of
things. Whenever I am dealing with some
dilemma or stressful event in my life, I find that I am having frequent inner dialogues
with myself, and I see that when I look at it from God’s perspective, and a
more positive one, I realize that I have more peace, and the stress or tension
leaves me. When I reframe it from a Godly
perspective, I get a peace that surpasses all understanding. However, this is
not always easy to do.
One difficulty that I frequently have to battle with in this
regard, is the area in which I live.
Before I got married and moved in to my husband’s apartment, I lived in
a decent neighborhood in a very quiet complex, on a quiet street, with a garage
and plenty of room. Now I live in small
apartment, in a not-so-good of a neighborhood, with homelessness, gangs and
drugs, constant noise, and various criminal activity on an almost daily basis.
My once quiet nights are filled with things like suddenly being awakened by
cars speeding and burning rubber in the alley, sounding like they will come
crashing through our bedroom wall, or hearing the sounds of someone outside our
window, in a drug induced state, cursing up a storm, banging on trash cans
outside our window. Sometimes I fear for
our safety, as my husband was once threatened by someone wielding a hypodermic
needle because he accidentally kicked over his beer bottle when walking home from
the store. These things no longer bother
me like they used to, namely because I changed my perspective. When I would express fear, my husband would
always remind me, pointing towards the heavens, that we are protected, and to
give it to the Lord. Then when I saw
that my husband would witness to the homeless and drug addicts, I realized that
this is a mission field, and God has us here for a reason. So instead of
dwelling on the negative, and telling myself “I hate living here”, I found
myself being thankful and content, knowing that one of my husband’s greatest
passions is spreading the love and words of Jesus to people, and living here
provides him that opportunity, and even more importantly, it is part of God’s
plan for us.
I always get comfort when I go to the bible and see examples
of others who experienced similar challenges.
Moses had to change his perspective.
When God told him He was going to send him to Pharaoh to bring the Israelites
out of Egypt, Moses kept giving God excuses. Moses asked who is he that he
should be the one to do it. He asked God what should he tell the people if they
asked who sent him. When God gave him all the instructions, Moses asked what if
the people wouldn’t believe or listen to him.
Then after God showed him the two
miracles of turning the staff into a serpent, and turning his hand leprous then
restoring it back to health again, Moses had yet another excuse: he was not eloquent and was slow in speech
and tongue. By this time God was angry
and asked Moses basically “who do you think gave humans a mouth and the ability
to hear or speak? If I gave you a mouth, don’t you think I will give you the
words?” Moses really needed to change his perspective at this point. I don’t know about you, but if I saw a
burning bush that wasn’t consumed, and saw God turn a staff into a snake, and
then turn my hand white as snow with leprosy then back to health again, I would
be pretty convinced that God was telling me to do something and that I better
do it, now, no questions asked! I think
with all the evidence that God showed him, Moses could have shifted his
thinking and said to himself, “yes, maybe I am not a good speaker, but God will
give me the strength and courage and the right words to do this!” But it took
Moses some time, and witnessing God’s might and wonders, to overcome his pessimistic
perspective. I love how God used people
like Moses, with his negative and doubtful thinking, to make His plan known and
to get it accomplished. Moses’ example encourages me because it shows
me that I am not the only one whoever struggled with negative thinking, and
even though we might succumb to it from time to time, God can and will still
use us. It is also an example to us,
that even though we don’t think we can accomplish something, or that our
circumstances won’t get better, God will make us victorious, either by removing
the obstacle, or giving us strength and hope to endure. Setting our sights on
God, on the things above, gives us the perspective we need to persevere and be
strong in our daily battles.
Changing our perspective from a self-centered one to a God-centered
one can be a daily battle. Some days are
easier than others. Some days we need extra help in this area. Reading God’s Word, listening to praise and
worship music, praying, even if all we can do is throw up arrow prayers for the
time being, helps so much in getting our mind right, and more in line with God’s. When I find myself in despair over something,
imagining the worst case scenario, I sometimes have to fight to change my perspective. The “I can’t stand this small apartment”
becomes “I love my cozy little home with my husband”. The “there is no hope for
my prodigal and unsaved children” becomes “God has this and He’s actively
working on them in His timing and His way.”
The “my job stresses me out” becomes “I am so thankful that God gave me
good job with good benefits and good co-workers.” The more I see things from God’s perspective,
the less overwhelming life becomes, and the more peace and contentment sets
in. And the more I see and realize all
the blessings God has bestowed on me, the more grateful and thankful I become for
all that He has done.
“If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are
above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your
mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and
your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our
life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1-4