GOD’S PERSPECTIVE

Isaiah 43:19 NLT For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness…

They say that when a detective asks people to give an eye witness account of an incident he’ll never get the same story twice from different people because we all see things from different perspectives.

The classic is when we’re presented with a tumbler which only has so much water in it, we can either say it’s half empty or half full, depending on whether we’re a pessimist or an optimist. Someone might say to just be glad you’ve got a glass at all, or to remember the glass is refillable! 

Life is like that too and if we’re a Christian we’re called to be imitators of God and as God is always positive, He expects us all to say our glass is half full and please Lord fill it up again.😊

So whether we’re optimistic or pessimistic by nature, when we’re presented with an unexpected or difficult situation, it would be wise to ask God to let us see what He sees, so we can respond in the right way, and not from our emotions. It’s good to remember God calls us to walk by faith not by how we feel or by what we see in the natural.

In Philippians 3:13 Paul encourages us all to not look back at what we’ve had or what we feel like we may have lost, but to be thankful for it, and then reach forward to what God has promised in His Word is still to come in His good plan and purpose.

The reason we have a small rear view mirror in our cars and a large front windscreen is because our future is bigger than our past and while we can reflect on what’s behind, God wants us to focus on, and pay attention to what is in front of us.

So can I encourage us all today to have a sense of expectancy from the Lord, knowing He says He’s already begun a new thing, and not fear or worry about what our future holds, because God is already there and He will not only hold us steady, but He’ll direct us every step of the way because He is our good and faithful God, and He loves us.😊 In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Raychan on Unsplash

A CROWN OF BEAUTY

Isaiah 61:3 To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.

Life happens sometimes and we can feel a bit side swiped when we didn’t see something coming and it can leave us mourning the loss of someone or something that is important to us.

It might be a career position, an investment that went wrong, a marriage that didn’t work out, a child who goes off the rails, or someone we hold dear leaving. In fact it can be any number of things that are important to us for one reason or another, and as someone said to me, when they’ve gone we can feel like we’ve had a bereavement.

The good news is our God is compassionate, and He never leaves us where we’re at. He has promised us a crown of beauty and I love the added bonus of a joyous blessing in place of mourning. 

We all struggle with a loss of some kind at some point. If you’re in that place today let God encourage you to know He is going to turn your sadness around into wonderful praise. He’s going to make you so strong that He compares you to a great oak tree.

Isaiah says in verse 7 that if you’ve been shamed or dishonoured that He’ll make sure you’ll come into a place of double honour. He goes on and says ‘You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land and everlasting joy will be yours.’

You see there is another chapter in our book still to be read and it’s up to us to turn the page and see what God has written and planned before we ever arrived. God sees our whole future, we may only see today.

If we keep trusting Him and keep our eyes on Him, and if we’ll let God work, and choose to have a grateful attitude, He will bring us to that place of peace and joyous blessing He’s promised us.

Let’s walk into our new week knowing our God goes with us and whatever we feel we may have lost, believe for the crown of beauty and ask the Lord to help us let go of the ashes.😊In Jesus name. Amen.

Photo by Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash

Photo by Julia Taubitz on Unsplash