Since I was 10 years old, I have worn contacts. I am not as blind as my beautiful daughter who has like a -5.0 prescription, nor can I see as well as my other daughter who just wears her glasses at night to help crisp up the world a little.
The older I get, the more I have to wear my glasses instead of my contacts. My eyes are drier and get more tired than they did 20 years ago. Oh well, such is life. I also always wear my glasses at night and in the mornings. It is just easier to grab them as I am rolling out of bed…unless I can’t find them, which is sometimes the case.
This morning, I could not find my glasses, yet I came downstairs anyway to sit with Jesus for a little bit. However, because my perspective is so off, it feels different. The Bible that I am reading needs to be a little closer to my eyes, this keyboard that I am typing on is blurry. I am unable to look out the window to enjoy the fall leaves because everything looks fuzzy. I’ve already thought my old black Labrador was laying in the rain, not moving, (cue the tears) only to realize it was my sons bike that he didn’t put away.
This got me thinking about perspective. Webster has many definitions for the word perspective some being “a mental view or prospect, the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance, and the appearance to the eye of objects in respect to their relative distance and positions.”
Our perspective, or our mental view on our current situation, may be a little distorted. Actually, it may be a lot distorted. We may feel overwhelmed because we cannot see things clearly. Anxiety levels may be rising because the world looks blurry. Anger, frustration, and jealously may be all we can see when, in reality, we are looking at things the wrong way. We may be anxiously awaiting God to answer a prayer, feel like He is not listening, or feel discouraged by His inaction. However, we must learn to fully trust in the sovernity of the Lord, regardless of our perspective of life’s situations.
Here are 5 ways God’s perspective about our current problems are very different from our own.
1. God’s sees things clearly.
God emphasizes all throughout Scripture that His perspective is radically different from our own. He is always working all things for His good (Romans 8:28) even when it feels like He is not doing what we think He should. We can find one such verse in Isaiah where He says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9, ESV).
God sees clearly. He doesn’t need glasses.
2. God’s perspective is not limited.
Depending on the time of day, my perspective may look different. There are shadows cast on objects, various lighting which causes my eyes to see certain things (or to hide others) in distorted ways, and other limitations to my eyes. With or without my contacts or glasses, I am limited. You are limited. We are not able to see the way God sees. I know this and you know this. God is not limited. Yet, the enemy often tries to convince me that God is not going to help me out or that I need to take control of the situation. Unfortunately, he is too often successful. In my very limited self, I try to control, manipulate, or fix situations or people that I have no business doing…especially with my very limited perspective."God's power is unlimited. He needs no teachers to guide or correct him. Others have praised God for what he has done, so join with them"(Job 36: 22-24).
3. God’s perspective is complete.
He sees the big picture and is not limited to human eyes. Sometimes it is helpful for me to think about a situation in my life as one scene in a movie. If I pause the film on that one scene and just concentrate on that, then I am not really seeing the whole picture. This is the same with our lives. If we concentrate too much on one problem, it can often become bigger than it really is from our perspective. However, God is not limited, and His perspective is complete. Again, He promises to work all things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). God is also in the business of completion. We can trust Him to finish the good work that He started. “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:6).
4. God’s perspective is bigger than ours.
As humans, we are limited, incomplete, and chained to these bodies that need help to survive. We may convince ourselves that we are self-sufficient, but we are far from that. Without the sun, we would freeze; without gravity, we would float away. God is holding all these things together and He is completely capable of holding our lives together. This world is bright, shining, and attractive, but just like the purple-colored contacts I wore in high school, it is just a façade. The truth is that we are in this world, but need to fight against the lies that this world screams at us. We need to do our best to gain Godly perceptives into our situations by renewing our minds.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 12:2).
5. God’s timing is different from our own.
Impatience is something that bubbles up in me. It comes in the form of anxiety, hurry, disappointments, and frustration. When I think God should be moving…when I have prayed for something and feel unheard, I have all types of human responses in this old body that needs glasses and feels aches and pains in the mornings. However, it is important to remember that God’s timing is very different from our own. He does not get impatient, anxious, or frustrated. He is our example in how we should view our world. “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9).
While our eyes may be limited, we serve a God is who all powerful, all knowing, and all good. Let’s trust Him today rather than our own limited selves. This morning, fumbling around without my glasses on, was a beautiful reminder of how limited I am in my own abilities. I must buffet my body and my mind to stop trying to understand, manipulate, or control any part of my life. I must learn how to trust El Roy, the God who sees.
"I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. He displayed this power in the working of His mighty strength" (Ephesians 1:18-19).
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