~ OR ~
{Maintaining The Proper Perspective Of How Things Truly Are}
Call it a challenge. Call it an exercise in spiritual strength~
Not that I mean to give much attention to the devil or his crew, but he is a reality, and he’s constantly conniving to bring us Christians down. In fact, it’s forever the devil’s intention to separate us from God, by whatever means necessary. Being downright crafty, he’s known all along that The Lord is our strength, and our refuge. . . our wisdom, and our everything worth emulating. Verily, dear reader, God is our everything. And it’s only the life that we have in Him that truly gives any of us value. With me thus far? Excellent.
Now, it’s a good bet for Satan that if he can get us to look at ourselves and our surroundings from a worldly perspective, as opposed to adopting (and keeping) God’s perspective as our own, well ~ we will be that much more susceptible to fall. And I’d say this is especially true of the way in which we view our so- called stature in relation to God’s. You see ~
As we believers grow seemingly stronger in our faith, we typically start to feel more confident and self- assured in our spiritual walk. We get to know our Bibles better n’ better as we attend church on the regular. Occasionally we say something worthwhile at Sunday School, to which someone inevitably says, “I really like what you said in Sunday School this morning.” Perhaps we volunteer to make coffee, or sling donuts in the courtyard. Maybe we start praying with those in distress, or agree to build a casa for those impoverished souls down in old Mexico. (At which point, we’ll typically take a deep breath of satisfaction mingled with foolish pride, as we start feelin’ pretty good about ourselves on the overall.) Maybe that’s when we start sensing a certain self- assurance as we seemingly thrive in our Christian walk. Please note that I’ve interjected the word ‘seemingly’ here. “Why”, you ask? Alas, possibly we’ve forgotten our humble beginnings, as we start accomplishing that supposed Christian greatness. Perhaps we start feeling as though we deserve something (other than Hell)? Recognition from peers? A little gratitude from The Almighty Himself? Sure. I know it sounds like crazy talk, but it’s entirely possible to lose sight of humility and our true Christian selves, as pride sets in.
Aaaand that’s about the time it comes down the pike. Talking about that quick one – two sucker punch that catches us off guard, and rocks our world. (Just to clarify, I meaning to use ‘rocks your world’ in an unpleasant way here.) Sometimes God causes or allows us to go through whatever it is that’s going to bring us back to a proper perspective of things. Often, something disheartening or tragic happens. A loved one dies. Maybe you find your ‘significant other’ has been cheating on you. Or perhaps some douchebag scammer empties your entire savings account. These things happen.
But its usually in the midst of whatever seemingly horrible situation, while we’re still in a daze and struggling to deal with shtuff, that dark forces move in for the kill. Now, I may be speaking somewhat vague here, but you get my meaning, dontcha, dear reader? The “two” in that one- two sucker punch is the devil taking his cheap shot at causing one’s faith to waver.
So how will we act or react to scenarios that we can’t stand? Will we act out like jerks, getting all aggravated with God for the so- called hardship at hand? Or, possibly take matters into our own retaliatory hands, in hopes of getting some result to our satisfaction? The devil hopes for either of these, as he loudly whispers wicked suggestions to our hearts and minds. I know. I’ve been there. And yeeeeah, I’ve been the jerk, and failed God plenty. I’ve had lots of situations when people have let me down . . . when I’ve been betrayed by my church family . . . and more than once, I’ve felt frustrated with The Lord Himself. Thing is, we’ll all have those times when people will legitimately mistreat us and/or piss us off, but if ever we find ourselves upset with God . . . well, that’s a big red flag right there telling us that we’re the ones waaay out of line. Being angry with God?!? Say it with me, dear reader ~ PREEEE-posterous! That’s truly an obvious, no- brainer sort of sign that we should instantly recognize. Though in the midst of hurt or frustration, we’re often blinded in the moment. We are only human. And as I was saying, the devil and his demons are working away to sabotage our thoughts. Which is why its so vitally important that we’re prepared before that happens.
Truth of the matter, we’re probably all going to experience some serious heartache at some point, especially as Christians. For in many ways, life can be much harder as a follower of Christ. And chances are good that we’ll find ourselves in more than a few spiritual battles. It’s most likely our destiny. I know. Just what you want to hear, right? What’s more, I’ve found that the quick- fixes to many of life’s difficulties come much easier utilizing those “non-Christian” tactics. Yet, we mustn’t let that sway us into compromising our Christian values. We’ve got to stay strong, dear reader, drawing ever closer to God, and relying on His strength to empower us.
Now you may ask, “what does all of this talk of hardship or Satan’s shadiness have to do with the sovereignty of God?” “Or of keeping the proper perspective, for that matter?” Well~ As I was attempting to express above, it’s forever the devil’s intention to separate us from God, by whatever means necessary.
Therefore, whether its at a time of pride, or distress, or any other time that we may seem vulnerable, one of the best ways for us to falter is for us to lose our perspective and forget our place. By this, I mean that even though God is God, whereas we’re just, well, us. . . we often lose sight of that. It’s true. At times, we feel entitled, as though God somehow owes us something; whether it’s some imaginary reciprocation of favors or possibly a basic respect. . . whatever. Then, we get downright riled if God doesn’t deliver just what we’re expecting from Him. (At that moment in our imaginary situation, we’re attempting to bring God down to our level, and somehow make Him accountable to us.) Sure, I realize it may sound absurd. And any of those reading this may say, “No! No way!” “I know God is God. I read that chapter on reverence! C’mon!” But I’m telling ya, dear reader, if any of us is ever upset with God, for any reason whatsoever, then that’s exactly what’s transpiring. In that moment, we’re forgetting our place. . . especially in relation to Whom God IS. And that devil most likely has something to do with our misdirection, distorting our perspective of the way things really are, (though we’re still accountable). After all, that was Satan’s foolish m.o. to fall way back when: thinking that he was big league, like God Himself.
Even this world has adopted a similar outlook of good versus evil, as an on- going match-up between God Almighty and Lucifer. . . as if that would be any challenge for God! Talk about ridiculous! Talk about having a whacked perspective of how things truly are! I mean, even as we rewind to our story of Adam n’ Eve with the serpent. . . What was the order of sovereignty there? Yes. God first and foremost, far above all! And then? In a way, way back distant second? Adam and Eve, right? And then, lastly and least, that lowly POS serpent, whom God gave The People of Eden authority over. Amen?!?
So, for any mere mortal to start to lose his bearings between himself and The Lord. . . PssT! I’ll say this plainly, and we should all commit this to heart:
There is never an acceptable reason for us to get angry with God. Never! Ever!
Nor should there ever be a time when we feel as though we can say or do anything we like, merely because we’re on good terms with Him, and covered by His grace.
In fact, it may be a good exercise to challenge oneself with a hypothetical scenario, before the situation even arises. Go ahead and ask yourself, dear reader~ what it is that’s precious to you, or what exactly would put your faith to the test if The Lord Almighty were to suddenly take it away? Would it be your ability to hear? Or see? Or run? Would it be the loss of someone you treasure? Or possibly the loss of your freedom, if you were falsely imprisoned for life, and God was The One that arranged for you to be there? I’m just spit– balling here. Thankfully the majority of us aren’t challenged with such instances, but some are. Truth is, we don’t exactly know what The Good Lord may bring our way. So although it may just be a matter of speculation or conjecture, ask yourself: Is there anything God could do that would rattle your faith in Him? ( Be honest 🙂 ‘Cause if there is, then we should work on that. We can even ask for God’s help. ‘Lord, help me remain vigilant in keeping the proper perspective of things. In Jesus’ name~ ‘
God is God. Sovereign. Omnipotent. Righteous. Loving. He’s never done anything wrong, and of course, He never will. Facts! It would be awesome to have that truth so strongly instilled within us, that we would be able to stand secure no matter what. But we are only human. . . which is the point.
Now I realize that I keep repeating myself on certain points. Promise you, it’s not meant to be a brainwashing 🙂 Honest.
Yet it is a discipline of training ourselves to commit certain precepts not only to memory, but to the very core of who and what we are as Godly followers, (until these values become what most of us would call second- nature). I honestly don’t know how it is that we could ever get angered with God in the first place, or to feel as though we could ever circumvent His authority, but we falter. I mean, who in the hell do we think we are in such moments?!? Stu-pid! Maybe it’s ’cause we start considering The Lord as a friend so much that we get almost too comfortable in that familiarity, and forget that He’s also our King? Could that be it? I dunno.
That’s still pretty moronic.
And here’s a quick anecdote to drive the point home ~
Would you believe that I once got pissed at God over losing a single hand of poker? Yep! That’s what an ass I am. To be honest, I don’t really feel like it’s a story I wanna share. WAY too embarassing! So, here it goes ~
It had to with holding what looked very similar to a winning hand like aces full of queens. . . and yet, losing roughly $900 bucks. Now, I don’t know if it sounds like a whole lot of fun to lose in such a scenario, but it isn’t. Pan to just a few minutes after losing ~ and though I can’t rightly remember the monologue verbatim, I bellowed over The Las Vegas Strip something like, ‘REALLY, GOD? REALLY?!? You know all of those GOOD things I’ve been doing for You, and THIS is what happens?!? THIS is what I get?!? You didn’t wanna get my back in there, huh? What the HELL, God?!? I mean, REALLY?!?’
Downright pathetic, eh? Even though aces full is a pretty immense hand to have, it’s like I said. There really is no excuse. There never is. I deserved to get smote right there on Las Vegas Boulevard, and have my membership in The God Squad revoked. Not that we’re ever alone in our sinful ways. Throughout our Bibles, there’s evidence that our fellow believers fell short all the time. These events transpired, at least in part, that we might learn from their mistakes, as well as our own, dear reader. Peter~ Paul~ Legends in the God business, and yet, we’re all just a heartbeat from humiliation. That’s by design.
So what exactly can we gather from The Word, and internalize for spiritual growth? (Way more than I can convey:) Though if there is a moral to our lesson here, it may be that it’s better to strive to keep the proper perspective than have to be reminded of it.
Thank God we have an Almighty God that loves us, forever worthy of our unwavering faith in Him. Most of the time, we honestly have no clue of the specifics of the ways in which He moves, but honestly, we don’t have to. Most of the time, we really don’t know the score, or understand what’s happening around us, but ~ We can trust God, with our everything, and we should train ourselves to do so without fail. In fact, if we think of The Lord as highly as we should, that in itself will dictate the efforts we’ll go to in order to do right by God.
Now as we mentioned before, it’s practically a given that hard times will come to all of us. Yet, we can keep our guards up against demonic forces*, walking securely in the mindset that The Lord wants us to. . . so that if we’re ever hurt or stressed or upset, we can simply close our eyes, take a breath, and pray for comfort, all the while knowing that God has things well in hand. {*Note: We should also be prepared at all times to pull dominance over Satan and/ or his demons at any given situation. Check out Ephesians, Chapter Six sometime for insight and inspiration.}
Suffice it to say, it’s essential that we Christians embrace such precepts from The Lord’s perspective, and constantly strive to see. all. manner. of. things. as. they. truly. are.
I’ll explain a bit more when we get to The Addendums.
Meantime, let me just say that the perspective God provides us with, dear reader, is crucial in this life~ Discernment as well.