Finding Your Perspective
Author: Terri Jo Hayes
August 30, 2018
Raised in a Christian home by parents who were the offspring
of a Baptist minister and a Seventh-day Adventist minister, conversations about
the Lord and His goodness always filled my family’s home. We were taught that God loves and takes care
of us, that we should love God and one another, and that Jesus was coming again
to take us home to live with Him eternally. That was my foundation—the principles that shaped my perspectives today.
But
even with that foundation, this world can be cold and sometimes hard to live in.
We hear daily news stories filled with uncertainty, anxiety, and sometimes despair. Reports of mass shootings, brutal assaults, divisions
instead of unity, natural and man-made catastrophes, and rampant injustices
with increasing insensitivities make our hearts ache for the people involved. Sometimes
we cry out, “Lord Jesus, come, now.”
These
things, coupled with our own personal challenges, sometimes seem too much to
bear alone; but thank God, we don’t have to—when we have the right perspective. Perspective is the way that we see or
understand something. It shapes our
outlook on a situation. Often I’ve
had to put things into perspective to continuously remind me of ‘Who’ is in charge and how my experiences
relate to the bigger picture.
For example, in college when I had difficult exams
approaching that made me anxious, I would calm myself down by comparing my
exams to the end of the world and salvation—a stretch, I know. But realizing
that the exam would come and go, with the results being whatever they were, but
not the end of the world, helped me put things into proper perspective. I would still have something to look forward
to that the exam didn’t impact—eternal life!
As I’ve gotten older, my faith has matured and, consequently,
my perspectives have deepened and proven true. A friend asked me recently, “Are you worried about an end of world
war?” “No,” I answered. “I don’t worry because I know the
ultimate outcome.” Among all the changes and trials that this world brings, one
thing never changes—and that’s God. It
doesn’t matter what the day’s issues are, whether they are on a personal,
national, or international level. They
eventually pass, leaving those of us who love God still standing, holding on to
our hope in Christ. That doesn’t change.
My
godly perspective gives me peace, because God tells us not to worry about
tomorrow nor be anxious about anything. He promises that His peace, which transcends all understanding, will
guard us; and that even to gray hairs, He will carry us.
So, don’t feel overwhelmed by the issues of the day, like
those who have no hope. Live in abundant peace right now, and from now on, when
we have the right perspective. Knowing that God is sovereign and faithful, we
can be sure that all will ultimately end well.
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