Perspective

 

“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.”

—Isaiah 40:22

You may remember the 1989 movie, “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” in which a scientist father accidently shrinks his two teen-age children and two of their friends. This poses all kinds of dangerous threats to these teens, as they battle to stay away from danger while their father searches for them.

Sometimes our perspective gets out of whack, just as things did in this movie. We see problems that loom nearby in such a way that we dwarf God by allowing Him to fall away into the background. In such a case, we need an adjustment to our perspective.

Many of the Psalms reveal the way in which saints of the past had to deal with their perspective. Some Psalms begin with tales of woes too large with which the psalmists can cope. Once they get a different view of God, the enormity of their problems contract to a much more manageable size.

In Psalm 73, Asaph, the musician, begins his Psalm remembering how he had nearly slipped away because he was looking at the prosperity and the seeming good luck of the wicked. He says he felt oppressed until he entered God’s sanctuary and got a different perspective. He ended the Psalm praising God’s goodness and sharing his gratitude for the riches of God’s grace. Verses 25 and 26 give us a glimpse:

Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Many times the psalmists have to remind themselves of the greatness of God. They do this by talking directly to themselves through the words they write in their Psalms.

This same kind of reminder can stir us, as well. We can see God, in His proper perspective, in our church services, or after a prolonged period of time spent in reading His written Word. When this happens, we see the extent of our woes in a much clearer way. We can shrink them down to size and allow God to show us His power and wisdom that rule over us.

I like the way that Paul explains the process of moving from despair to faith by means of a new perspective in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

It’s important for us to remember that a proper perspective can change everything!

 

 

The Art of the Blend

 

“God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”

—1 Corinthians 12:18

When we think of the work of an oil painter, we often neglect to consider the artistic competence and sensitivity needed to prepare the paint used for the project. A good artist considers the pigments of color and the medium through which to use those colors. He or she also chooses between solvents for the viscosity (thickness) of the paint and the varnish that will give the appropriate glossiness to the finished work.

Perfumers also study their art by learning about the distinguishing characteristics of fragrances. Because of the keen sense of smell needed, the most skilled ones of these people get dubbed “Noses” by those in that field. Such perfumers know the strengths and power of each fragrance and carefully blend only those which augment the others.

Similarly, organists exhibit concern about what choices they make in registering the sounds for each piece of music they play. My first organ teacher quizzed me for the names of each pipe when I had my eyes closed. Is the sound a reed, a flute, a diapason, or a string? Does it match the intended mood the composer of the music requires for this particular piece? Is one stop too sharp to play alongside another because it will cover the sound or blend poorly?

God, the most creative of all artists, looks at His church in much the same way as these other professionals look at the works they produce. He desires to create something beautiful for His world out of the flesh and blood of His people in specific locations. Look around at your local church. God has placed people of various ages, various races, various abilities, and various limitations.

He has carefully gifted His people with talents and abilities, and with a wide range of life experiences. Children love to gather around old Uncle Pete because of his kind and loving ways. Grandma Pearl gets everyone laughing each time they talk with her. Roy has such knowledge of Scripture that people flock to his class. And, Ruby sings like an angel and brings the Holy Spirit near whenever the congregation hears her voice.

Carrie and Fred have owned a successful business for many years and they freely give of the wealth God has provided them. They love to see God’s church blessed through their giving. Beverly doesn’t have money or abilities to teach, but when she gets in the kitchen she blesses the entire congregation through the foods that she so lovingly prepares.

God also places His people in churches where they need growth and maturity—perhaps even through learning to get along with others who see things in opposite ways from them. He is creating a beautiful body of work for His glory. We should stand in awe of His workmanship.

Look at those in your church as instruments in God’s hands, as gifts to you and others, and see yourself in a way that makes you happy to share with others the qualities that God has given you. Stand back and look at the picture God is painting in your congregation. Take time to smell the aroma of His blessing. Pause in a quiet moment to hear the music of His joy in your midst.

Praise the Artist of Heaven today for the magnificently creative way He has blended the people in your church into a powerful force for His Kingdom!

 

 

Stuck!

 

“You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you.”

—2 Chronicles 20:17

Judah was stuck! They didn’t know which way to turn. Their enemies were coming against them.¹ What to do?

The king proclaimed a fast and the people together sought the Lord for His help. God gave Jahaziel, one of the Levites, God’s message for them to “stand firm and see the deliverance of the Lord.” Their enemies ended up destroying each other. As a result, God’s people could only lift their voices in praise to Him.

I was stuck! That spring day so many years ago, I ran across the field in my tall barn boots and before I knew it, I had sunk too far into the mud to get out. I yelled for my father and he came and quickly pulled me out of my boots to rescue me.

Plenty of times in life we get stuck. We don’t know which way to go. The way we thought the Lord was leading us turns out to be a dead end. We try to step this way and that. But, we simply have no power to move.

I knew, standing there in the mud on that long-ago day, that my father would come to help me. He heard my cry. Likewise, our Heavenly Father sees us and hears us when we call out to Him in our distress. He knows the way to safety before we do. We can trust Him to help us out of our predicament and lead us onto the right pathway.

We learn the lesson of waiting patiently for our God when we have no place to go but to Him. We pray and stand still. And, as stated in Psalm 40:1-3, He will come:

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

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1 According to 2 Chronicles 20:2, their enemies consisted of a vast army.

 

 

Servant Winds

 

“He makes the winds his messengers.”

—Psalm 104:4

The Bible’s use of the image of “wind” fascinates me. Some passages speak of stormy winds, such as those sent to the ship in which Jonah tried escaping God’s call, as recorded in Jonah 1:4. Or, the stormy winds sent while the disciples maneuvered to cross the Sea of Galilee, as recorded in Matthew 14:22-36. Or, the stormy winds sent to Paul and the other prisoners traveling to Rome, as recorded in Acts 27:1-44. In each case, God had specific purposes for such storms.

In some cases throughout the New Testament, the word “wind” refers to the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:1-13, we read the story of the first Pentecost during which “a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.” That powerful “storm” filled everyone there with the Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, recorded in John 3:1-21, He said:

“…the wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So is everyone born of the Spirit.”

God’s people and His Church both need the “wind” of the Holy Spirit to blow within us, to remove the dust that has fallen upon us during the years we sat idle. We need to pray again that the Living Lord Jesus Christ would breathe His wind through us, sending us in new directions, bringing new birth by the Holy Spirit, and making the “wind” His servant to fulfill His purposes in us, through us, and for us.

Like seasoned sailors, we need to watch for the direction of the God-given spiritual winds and set our sails appropriately. We need to meet together and wait in prayer, just as the believers did after Jesus’ ascension, watching for Him and for His promised Holy Spirit.

This well-known hymn expresses the kind of prayer God wants us to pray:¹

O Breath of Life, come sweeping through us,
Revive Your church with life and pow’r,
O Breath of Life, come, cleanse, renew us,
And fit Your church to meet this hour.

O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
Till humbly we confess our need;
Then in Your tenderness remake us,
Revive, restore, for this we plead.

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1 Head, Bessie P. O Breath of Life. Public Domain.