Power of Perspective

Key Scripture:  "May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be  a choir...our lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Master Jesus."  Romans 15 The Message

Power Point:

     It really is all in how you look at something isn't it?  The other day, my prayer group was meeting, and Julie brought the picture you see of the woman below. What do YOU see when you look at her?  If you look at her one way, you'll see a young woman turning her head to the left.  If you look at her another way, you'll see an old woman with a huge wart on her nose.  It all depends on how you look at it.

     I've always been aware of two things; 1.  God is a superb Teacher, and, 2.  He has a great sense of humor, (which quite frankly He needs when He works with us!). On Tuesday, we looked at some of these pictures with different perspectives. We laughed and helped each other find the "other" perspective.  It was amusing to see that what was so very clear to me, was not at all clear to someone else, and vice versa. 

     Moments later, a situation arose where we had to deal with a genuine problem of perspective.  In the heat of the moment, we were all looking at the situation from a negative. It caused some offense, and some division.  Sitting there together, we were quite sure we were right, and the other person was wrong. We all had the same perspective, you see. 

     Later that night, the Lord began to talk to me about what had happened that day.  I realized as I looked at the situation from His point of view, there were things I had clearly not "seen".  They were there, right in front of my eyes, but I had focused on the "wart".  I know you have heard me say, "You can be right in the wrong way, and when you do that, you are really "wrong" from God's perspective." That's what happened that day.

     We forgot that one of the key principles of the Kingdom of God is loving unity.  That means we are to expect the best in each other and remain a united front for love and unity.  I can't imagine the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit being so strong in their opinions that they argue and put each other down, can you?  No way!  One of the things that the Lord asked me later was, "What can you agree on?"   Of course that changed the direction of my thoughts.  Instead of looking intently at the "wart", I began to see the other person's opinion.  And she had a valid point! When we spoke later, we could begin to see both points of view.  Ultimately, we talked and prayed and got it all worked out.  In retrospect, I love knowing that what Satan meant to use to divide us, God had prepared us for in advance!   I love that about Him!

     Do you remember the game "Red Rover"?  There are two lines of people, each holding each others hands as tightly as they can. One team sends of their members to run as fast as he can to break the grasp of the people holding on to each other. Satan loves that game.  If you're in conflict with someone, be sure to ask God to help you find something you can agree on, which may lead you to a fresh perspective that you both can see, together.

     It really is in how you look  at it, isn't it?

Power Thought:

     "We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses."

Abraham Lincoln.

  

     

Copyright © 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work