A thought by Larry Osborne (2015-04-01) from his
book, Thriving in Babylon: Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture (Kindle Location 760).
David C. Cook. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
Perspective, without it Larry says,
“Everything gets blown out of proportion. We catastrophize. The loss of
privilege becomes harsh persecution. Opposition becomes hatred. And every legal
or electoral setback becomes cause for anguish and despair. In short, we
evaluate and extrapolate without putting God into the equation. Unfortunately,
those who most lack perspective seldom realize it. Why does a two-year-old
think waiting five minutes is an eternity? Why does a trust-fund baby think
flying coach is the end of the world? Why
does a Little League parent scream and yell at an umpire’s bad call? In each
case, it’s a lack of perspective.”
But once you have it, you have
perspective, Larry says, “It changes everything. It allows us to see the bigger
picture. Consider the amazing lens through which the apostle Paul evaluated the
many persecutions he faced. It’s mind-boggling. Here was a man who endured
repeated floggings, beatings, assassination attempts, imprisonments,
shipwrecks, and a life lived on the run. Yet he came to the point that he
viewed them as mere momentary troubles in light of the heavenly glories to
come.”
So how did he get there? He got there through living through hardship
and struggles. He survived and that
built something into him. He was a
survivor. You see, “Each trial left him
stronger, more certain than before that he could handle the enemy’s best shot.
He learned to rely on the strength and power that Jesus provided, and he
learned that it was enough to allow him to cope with anything that came his
way.”
So are you scared to death about the
upcoming election? Maybe you need some
struggles, some hardship. For sure you
need some perspective.
As Larry says, “That’s what the
backside of hardship and suffering does. It teaches us perspective. It takes
the fear out of the things that terrify others. It keeps us calm when everyone
else is panicking.”
Remember God will always be in your
storm. And he is never surprised. Put that into your perspective.
So what has you in a panic?
Comments
Post a Comment