Vantage Point

POINT OF VIEW
The first 23 minutes of the suspense movie Vantage Point (Columbia Pictures, 2008) is the apparent assassination of the American president during his speech at an anti-terror conference in Spain. For the next 67 minutes, viewers watch various portions of those 23 violent minutes re-played from the vantage point of others who were present on that Spanish plaza: a Secret Service agent; an American tourist with a video camera; a Spanish plainclothes cop; a mom and her young daughter. We get to see, through their eyes, a new perspective of the event. In the end, we learn the truth.

It would be nice if we could see a Hollywood version of our lives. Or better yet, a DVR version, where we could pause live life as it happens, back it up and see it again, maybe this time from another perspective. That way we could figure out why we didn’t make the cheerleading squad or why our parents never get along or why our lives seem to be so much harder than everyone else’s.

GOD’S PERSPECTIVE
There is another vantage point, though. Actually, we’re closer to it than we think when we ask God why. The problem is that we often don’t stop and listen long enough when we ask Him that question. I don’t know if it’s because we’re afraid to see another vantage point, don’t want to, or don’t think God cares enough to show us. The reality is, if we’ll open our eyes and gaze upon the God who loves us, it’s like the camera angle on the movie spins, revealing to us a different perspective of our circumstances.

The Old Testament prophet Habakkuk asked, “How long, LORD, must I call for help and You do not listen or cry out to You about violence and You do not save?” (Hab. 1:2). The rest of the book is like a spiritual journal, Habakkuk asking God the tough questions and hearing God’s answers. In the end, Habakkuk saw God’s perspective and proclaimed, “Though the fig tree does not bud and there is no fruit on the vines, though the olive crop fails and fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will triumph in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!” (Hab. 3:17-18).

In other words, Habakkuk learned to view his circumstances through God’s perspective.

NFL quarterback Drew Brees has asked God the tough questions. The final game of a disappointing 2005 season turned into huge uncertainty for Brees. Scrambling for a fumbled ball, Brees dislocated his shoulder, suffering what most believed to be a career-ending injury. Looking back, he reflects: “I truly believe that God can use anything—even an injury—for good. I believe that God has a plan for people’s lives, even when that plan doesn’t work out the way we think it should. I don’t think God dislocated my shoulder, but in the normal processes of life, he allowed that to happen. And I have the faith to believe there was a reason for it. But in that moment in the middle of the exam room with the tears flowing, my worldview was clouded. I was struggling. I felt right on the edge.”1

Clinging to their faith in Jesus, Brees and his wife refused to give up on life or on God. Five years later, having learned through faith the hidden power of adversity, Drew Brees was voted the Most Valuable Player as the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints, Super Bowl XLIV champions. The fact that he became a Super Bowl champion isn’t the point, though. The fact that he found perspective through faith in Jesus is the point.

Maybe you started reading this article hoping to find answers for your questions. Life’s not that easy. The power of hope in God is that it’s most often realized in the middle of adversity. We cannot guess, predict, or determine what challenges we will face tomorrow or even later on today. We can, however, determine, in the Lord’s strength, to view those challenges through the vantage point of God’s unchanging love and powerful presence. Ready for a change of perspective?

We know that you’re probably dealing with some pretty tough situations right now. A divorce. A death in your family. An illness, a disappointment, grief over a broken relationship, or a failure.

Take some time right now to think about the biggest problem you’re currently facing. What is it?
Why is it such a big deal? How is it affecting your life? What is your current attitude toward it?

Take some time to pray about your problem. Tell God what’s going on,
how you feel, and why this is so difficult. Pour out your heart to Him; He can handle
whatever you have to say.

Now, take some time to be silent before God. Focus on who He is and how He has helped you in the past. Ask Him to help you see your problem from His perspective and to open your eyes to how even this experience could be used for His glory.

Has your perspective changed at all?

1. Drew Brees, Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2010), 13.