A Matter of Perspective
By Olivia Barnes
Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41:10 KJV
The angle you view a situation from will directly impact your response.
Look at Numbers 13 and 14. The spies Moses had sent to search out the land of Canaan have returned after forty days.
Ten spies returned with an earthly perspective, two returned with a perspective based upon faith and the knowledge of God by their side.
…we be not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we … we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight
The ten spies based their perspective on their own viewing of things, they were fearful of what they saw and therefore their perspective was full of fear. This fear prevented them from seeing the might of God on their side; they did not grasp hold of the promise of God, that this land was theirs. The negative opinion of these ten men had a powerful influence on the entire congregation (Numbers 14:1). The people lost sight of God and got caught up in the emotions and disappointment of the moment.
This is human nature, we all do it. We see the obstacle in front of us and we worry, stress, panic, cry – our emotions lead the way. But stop, breathe and pray. Thank the Lord that He is with you, you are not alone. Not all situations will resolve quickly or pleasantly, but whatever the outcome we are not alone, we have a heavenly Father, the Creator of the universe who has the power to control nature, to part the Red Sea, to provide manna in the wilderness, and cause springs to flow out of rocks.
In Numbers 13:30 Caleb boldly stands and proclaims an unpopular opinion
Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
How can he be so assured when he is in the minority? He had faith, faith in God and in God’s promises. Caleb and Joshua knew with all certainty that God whom they served was bigger than the problems they could see. Their perspective was informed by their knowledge of God.
Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not. Numbers 14:9
While we may feel overwhelmed by a looming obstacle, we may cry over a future fear, we need to reach out to God, the one who holds us up and sustains us. Let our perspective be based on the faithfulness and majesty of our God.
Time spent focused on God, steadies everything.
Lord, I thank You that no matter what situation we face, You face it with us. We are not alone; we do not face life’s challenges alone. Teach us to have a perspective based on You and not on ‘our own sight’. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
For more encouragement, visit Olivia at abidingwordscom.wordpress.com
© 2021 by Olivia Barnes. All rights reserved.
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