Perspective: Fixing our Eyes

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

A group of people are asked to take a photo to capture the beauty of the same garden in full bloom. One person may zoom in on the intricacies of a flower, while another takes a landscape shot of the entire array of flowers. Someone might climb up on a bench to take a picture, while another may lie on the grass to capture the flowers from that angle. There may even be a blurry photo. Each person captures their photograph from a different perspective.

Perspective is also defined as a way of thinking about and understanding something.

I’ve thought a lot about this word in my journey with chronic illness. I wonder if you have, too. There have been times when my perspective has become blurry, and I have needed to refocus. Sometimes, I have lost, regained, or caught a new perspective. The one commonality in each situation is that I have eventually tried to allow it to press me toward God, whose perspective I ultimately seek.

What are some things that cause or have caused you to lose perspective? Perhaps:

• the burden of caregiving each day.
• the chronic nature of your illness.
• fatigue and pain that won’t let up. 
• comparing your life to others and asking God, “Why me?” 

SHIFTING OUR FOCUS

When my illnesses forced me to give up my career as a teacher, I was frustrated and disillusioned. My gaze was fixed on how I saw my circumstances. I spent much time with God in prayer, journaling, and reading His word, trying to catch His perspective. I’m thankful that I now see things more from His perspective, but as situations arise, I can still find my focus blurred. I still need to stop and ask Him to help me see things through His lens.

How do we shift our focus? How can we change how we view our difficulties? How can we catch God’s perspective on what we are going through? 

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

This is a key verse for me. I need to fix my eyes on the unseen: on God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. There are several ways that I can do this.

WAYS TO CATCH GOD'S PERSPECTIVE

1. To counter my human thoughts about my situation, I try to root myself in His Word and read what God says. For instance, I know I can feel hopeless, so I have written out the following verse and put it on my bathroom mirror to remind myself of this truth:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

2. I try to remind myself of who God is – His character never changes. My trials have helped me come to know God so much better in ways I might never have known without my illnesses. 

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

He is always loving and faithful. When I don’t know how to get through a day of fatigue and pain, I am reminded of His omnipotence; He knows everything. Unlike my limited view, He knows the whole picture and has good in store for me. My time here on this earth with a body that lets me down is just for a little while when I see it from His perspective.

3. I have some special people in my life who help me catch perspective. They listen compassionately and offer gentle words that can point me to God and redirect my focus. Who are the people in your life who can help you catch perspective again?

GRATITUDE AND PRAYER

One of the things I have learned over and over is that when my life is full of gratitude, my perspective quickly shifts. When I take time daily to name the things God has given me (even small things like my cat curled up on my lap, a warm cup of tea on a crisp day, or a friend whose words encouraged me), I see my life through a different lens. I realize that life may not be perfect, but as Ann Voskamp says, 

Faith thanks God in the middle of the story. 

My perspective can be so small that I only see myself. When I look to the needs of others, my perspective inevitably broadens. Regularly praying for others helps balance my perspective and continues to grow my gratitude. 

SEEING GOD'S HAND IN OUR STORIES 

As I have asked God to give me His perspective, He has faithfully done so. A simple prayer (like “Show Me Lord”) can allow Him to help us look at our lives through His lens. As we talk with Him, we might see that a hard day drives us closer to Him—or that our small acts of kindness mean so much more than we could ever know. We may realize it’s not what we can do but what God can do. He may grow our compassion for our loved ones when we see them as He sees them.

Ninety-nine years: that’s how old my grandma lived to be. She often said, “When I look back on my life, I can see God’s hand guiding me, just so.” She would recall hard times when God brought someone into her life at just the right time, His provision after the death of her young husband, or knowing His presence during health challenges. She could see God’s hand in her trials and joys and catch His perspective in her story. We don’t have to reach my grandma’s age to see our lives and challenges this way. It’s available to us right now. 

God’s hand is in the middle of our stories, and He wants us to look to Him to catch His perspective.

PRAYER

Father, You know each of us and understand what each day holds. When we lose perspective, help us see things as You do, realizing that even though life can be hard, there is so much good in it. You can use each of our lives just as they are in ways we might never see if we don’t shift our gaze to You. Thank You for loving us so much; You want the best for us each day. In Jesus’ name, amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

• Recall some times when you have lost perspective.
• What does God want you to see from His perspective? Seek to have an ongoing conversation with Him about perspective this month.
• Think back on the suggestions in this devotional. What is one thing you can do today to catch God’s perspective in your life?

INVITATION

Earlier in this devotional, I mentioned a helpful prayer (Show Me, Lord) that you can print for yourself. Then, when your focus is blurry or you need a shift in perspective, pray Show Me, Lord, and let the Lord meet you there.