I’ve been thinking a lot about how we often miss out on God’s best because of fear or a wrong perspective. The most important determinant of whether you live in faith or fear is your perspective.
Your perspective makes all the difference.
Perspective determines how we respond to things.
I came across a letter some time ago that a college student sent to her parents. It beautifully illustrates the importance of perspective:
“Dear Mom and Dad,
I have so much to tell you. Because of the fire set off by the student riots, I experienced temporary lung damage and had to go to the hospital. While I was there, I fell in love with an orderly, and we’ve moved in together.
I dropped out of school when I found out I was pregnant. He got fired because of his drinking, so we’re going to move to Alaska, where we might get married after the baby is born.
Signed,
Your loving daughter.
P.S. None of that really happened, but I did flunk my chemistry class, and I wanted you to keep it in perspective.”
What a smart girl—she understood the power of perspective.
Perspective is everything.
Perspective gives us a sense of proportion. It’s the ability to sort out what’s a big deal and what’s not.
Unhealthy fear is often the product of an off-kilter sense of perspective.
The single most common command in the Bible is not to live in fear but to live in faith—always on the edge of possibilities, not paralyzed by fear.
God always calls people to trust Him.
He said to Abraham, “Leave your home. Go with your wife, Sarah. As an old man, you’re going to give birth to a son and become the father of a nation. But you’ll have to leave everything familiar and comfortable. You’ll have to trust Me.”
God said to Moses, “Go and tell the most powerful man in the country, ‘Let My people go.’”
God told Daniel, “I want you to defy the king. Pray even though there’s a rule against it.”
Jesus told the rich young ruler, “Do something bold: go, sell your riches, give to the poor, and follow Me. I’ll give you the adventure of a lifetime.”
More often than not, people did trust God and never regretted it. But some did not accept the challenge and lived in misery.
I’m sure that when the rich young ruler was asked to give it all, he couldn’t do it. Later in life, as he grew richer and richer, he must have reflected on that moment when a young carpenter, a rabbi from Nazareth, challenged him to give everything away to the poor.
I wonder how he felt later in life as he shrank back from the challenge of a lifetime.
I’m sure he said to himself, “I wonder if things would have been different if I had had the courage to face the unknown. Maybe there was something greater out there that I missed.”
“If only I had said yes. I wonder what my life could have become. Maybe I could have been a disciple, a follower, simply by answering one question with courage.”
For those who back away from their challenges, life often ends up being filled with a mountain of regret. And I believe that by this coming June, we’ll have an audience—both lay and clergy—filled with people who live just that way.
Fear overshadows possibilities. But because of our faithfulness and good planning, we are opening the gates to possibilities. Metro Atlanta needs a God-centered perspective—one that eliminates fear. Let’s help them with that.
~James