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.

Change your perspective

Today’s devotion is about changing your perspective. What a timely topic. Just last week, I had to take some time to shift my perspective on a part of my life that I felt was rather discouraging. And you know what? It helped!

I’ve felt a bit stuck lately in one part of my life: my apartment. You see, the two-bedroom, two-bath apartment I live in is small, and my roommate and I’ve got a bit too much furniture, clothing, and kitchen wares for it. Our closets are filled to overflowing. (I’ve actually gotten stuck inside one of my closets when I fell in while trying to retrieve something. My roommate was present when it happened and thought it quite funny.) Our rooms have very little extra space for walking around in. Our kitchen drawers are difficult to open and even more difficult to close due to amount of gadgets they hold. On top of that, it’s old. The kitchen is outdated. (Maroon countertops—bleh!) The light fixtures are ugly. The air conditioner mysteriously knocks when it’s not blowing out cool air.

In the middle of my Thursday-evening cleaning routine last week, I stubbed my toe for the hundredth time on my cedar chest as I was dusting my packed-full bedroom. As I cried out in frustration and pain, I came to the conclusion that I needed to flip my perspective (and my attitude) on my current home. I needed to find some things about this place that I like. It took me a few minutes, but I did find some!

I realized that I like the area of town I live in; it’s safe and there’s lots of fun stuff to do very close by. And then I remembered that I get to live in my cramped apartment with one of my very best friends and that I should treasure this time we have as unmarried girls to enjoy our friendship. I realized that I should be thankful that I have a job in this tough economy that allows me to pay my rent. And I was also suddenly grateful that I could clean my whole apartment—scrubbing bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, etc.—in about an hour and a half (something I certainly won’t be able to say the day I move into a real house!). I noted that the overabundance of furniture I have in my room now will go a long way to help furnish whatever home I move into next.

I counted my blessings, and it truly helped me change my perspective. Granted, this may seem like a silly example to you, but is there a situation at school or home or maybe even your after-school job that really grates on you? If so, try to come up with what you like about that situation. Focus on what you’re grateful for and see if it doesn’t change your whole attitude. And even if it doesn’t, today’s Scripture focus sums it up nicely: “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory” —2 Corinthians 4:17.

For Christians, enduring your affliction—be it a mean sibling, a tough class, or a bad case of acne—doesn’t hold a candle to how far from your mind it’ll be once you’re experiencing the “eternal weight of glory” in heaven. Don’t ever lose perspective of that.

What will you change your perspective on today?