Perspective Change

For the better part of this year, I’ve been in a tough season. Partly because I allowed myself to dwell there, and partly for circumstantial or spiritual reasons.

But, the Lord has been ever faithful through every bit of it, just like He always is. I wanted to share a few things I feel like the Lord has taught me in recent months, in doing so, my hope and prayer is that it would help others and that the Lord would use this to speak to someone that may need to hear the very same things I am learning.

The main thing is: everything is an opportunity to trust God more.

At some point in the past, I started praying for perspective change. Not just on what was going on in my life, but in everything. To be able to look at things with a more Holy perspective. And that’s a prayer that the Lord has allowed me to see answered plainly.

Over time, I found myself "switching gears" so to speak and seeing a reason to be thankful for things I never thought I could be, or never would have seen a reason to be thankful, if the Lord hadn't changed me.

The literal only explanation is the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, which is still very much at work today. We can't make ourselves change and be better, this is why we hear about sanctification.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."

We are continuously being transformed into His image and being sanctified, which is another reason in and of itself to be thankful. God doesn't leave us as our same, icky, sinful old selves. He loves us too much to do so.

My mom and I often talk about how we can get stuck in old loops in our minds. You know, the ones were you rehash old problems, find new reasons to be upset, or get upset all over again. The ones filled with lies, hurts, or plain ole stubbornness not to move forward.

These are the kind of things the enemy uses to keep us bound up. Loops keep us from perspective change and thankfulness. I think they also keep us from seeking the Lord and being refreshed or revived by the gospel truth.

So, what do we do? Seek the Lord. Even when it's hard or we don't "feel" like it. Ask Him to change your perspective and to change you, because He will.

I know because He's doing it in me.

Another huge part of this perspective change also has to do with choice. I can choose to be thankful. I can choose to seek the Lord. I can choose to believe what He says.

That's what we've got to do.

Go before the Lord in prayer with thanksgiving, instead of grumbling and complaining. I really can’t say enough how much thankfulness changes your perspective and attitude. I can't say enough how God will change you, when you allow Him to and continue to seek Him.

I’ve actually found myself feeling joyful in difficult situations because the Lord has changed me to start praying things like, “I don’t understand ___, but thank you for an opportunity to trust you more.” Or “I cannot handle this, so thank you Lord for a chance to rely on your strength and be reminded that I don’t have to do this myself.”

You may read this and think there’s no way you could genuinely pray things like that. I get it. I used to feel that way. Sometimes I still struggle.

But the more I pray with thanksgiving, the more joyful and free I feel. The same with believing God's promises, which is only natural. Promises like He will never leave us (Joshua 1:9, Matthew 28:20, Deuteronomy 31:6), like He is for us (Romans 8:31), like He is just (Isaiah 30:18, Luke 18:7-8).

And if you’re thinking there’s no way you could see things differently or that there isn’t a different perspective on things, think again. If you ask the Lord to change your perspective and to give you His, He will. I can say this with confidence because His word tells me so. 1 John 5:14-15 (ESV) says, “And this is the confidence that we have towards him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.”

There are countless verses about thanksgiving throughout the Bible, but the one I want to share is Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV), “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Many of us know these verses, but something that has been reiterated to me many times is that we often forget the “with thanksgiving” part. We’ve got to be thankful to God. Whether or not we get what we want or things seem to be or feel like they’re going well.

We’re thankful because God is God.

Because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

Nothing can take that away, and so our praise and thanksgiving should never cease. We’ve always got reason to be thankful, friends.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (1 Chronicles 16:34 ESV)

#perspective #attitude #thankful