The Joy of Perspective

The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:44-46

Perspectives or the way that you look at things affect every aspect of your life. If you look at your bank account and see it dwindling because of gas prices today, you might get depressed. However if you look at the innocence of a child and their zest for life, you might be able to find joy no matter what is going on in your life. The streams of true joy run deep, and they can only be found in one place—God‘s presence. The Psalmist reminds us, “You will show me the path of life: in your presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (16:11).

What kind of perspective on life have you had lately? Recently, a friend invited me to visit with a man who had moved from Africa to Nashville, Tennessee. He greeted us at the door with a smile and joy in his heart that we had stopped by. As I walked into his apartment, I noticed that he had a kitchen table, a couch, and a lot of empty space for his family of three. There were two perspectives that were clashing. In my view of comfort and ease, I wondered how he could be so happy. This alone made me ask a lot of questions about where he found his joy. He told me of a man who had visited his village in Africa and was spreading the Good News about Jesus. At first, he rejected the man, but the more that he heard the Gospel the more it affected him. As a result of the preacher sharing the Gospel, he was born again by God’s Spirit and began walking with Jesus. This was the source of his joy, happiness and peace.

After learning about his salvation experience, he showed me pictures of where he came from in Liberia, Africa. The roads were made of dirt, some gravel and very little pavement. The homes were built out of bamboo with leaves on the roof and a mixture of mud was used as mortar. He lived in a small place where they grew their own food and survived off the land. The basic mode of transportation was two feet or a bicycle if you were really blessed. He said you could easily walk 10-15 miles in a day. With my perspective being opened up to another culture, my friend informed me of a place he wanted to take the man to get some used furniture. We were able to drive to a benevolence center and pick out a few things—a full mattress, a fold-up single mattress, a few pillows, 3 wooden chairs, an old office desk and a couple of blankets. These items were able to meet his basic needs, and they were free. They didn’t seem like much to us, but it would be the comparison of taking an American to American Signature Home and saying, “Get what you want!” He was happy and overjoyed!

With my perspectives refocused, I came home realizing how blessed and spoiled I can be. I live in an air-conditioned home filled with furniture, books, food in the cabinets, clothes in the closet, running water, and ice. There are so many things that surround us and bring us comfort yet are we really comforted? Are we really happy? Are we really joyful? A.W. Tozer, in The Pursuit of God, speaks about the Blessedness of Possessing Nothing. He uses Abraham offer of Isaac as a backdrop to say, “After that bitter and blessed experience I think the words my and mine never again had the same meaning for Abraham. The sense of possession which they connote was gone from his heart. Things had been cast out forever. They had now become external to the man. His inner heart was free from them. The world said, ‘Abraham is rich,’ but the aged patriarch only smiled. He could not explain it, but he knew that he owned nothing, that his real treasures were inward and eternal.”

Are your real treasures inward and eternal? Are you like the man who treated the kingdom of heaven like a treasure and sold all that he had to buy it with joy? Or like the merchant who was searching for great pearls and after finding one sold all he had to possess it? This is not saying that the kingdom of heaven can be purchased. The way has already been purchased. It is revealing the point that knowing Christ, the King of the kingdom, is priceless and abandonment to Him provides rich joy and real perspective on this life that we live!

Resting in His Grace

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 19:11-13

Have you ever looked back on your past and realized that God’s hand has been with you ever since you were born? He has orchestrated the time, the place of your birth, the parents that He gave you, the hardships, the joys and opportunities to draw you closer to Himself. He blessed you with a church to hear the Gospel or maybe a Christian relative or friend that told you about Jesus. He has always been in control of every situation and used many of them to get your attention and cause you to look up and thank Him for the glorious provision He has made by giving His own Son as a substitute for our sins. He has been planning from eternity past and He knew what this day would bring in your life. He’s prepared to lead you, protect you and provide for you.

Such security in the sovereignty of God should leave us speechless, worshipful and thankful. It should cause us to live in reverence and holiness of One whose very Word spoke light into existence, whose hand holds the oceans in the hollow of His hand, whose finger brought the plagues of Egypt when His people were held in bondage, and whose eyes run throughout the earth looking for those hearts that are turned toward Him. Catching a glimpse of His wonder throughout the day is enough to break the heart free from the natural and by faith enter the supernatural where nothing is too hard for Him. He is God and there are no others! His name must be shared to the ends of the earth, to the edge of your families, in the heart of your community and within the walls of your home.

Time-out.

If He is so great, then why do we feel so indifferent, distant and joyless at times? Why does our heart grow cold, emotions stale and mind stagnant to the things of God. It’s simple, we quit believing that He is who He says He is and fall into sin. Little sins add up and build walls around our hearts. Just like a marriage or any other relationship, when time is not spent with the one you love, effort is not made in cultivating the relationship, and open communication begins to wane, it seems that everything falls apart. God is true, honest and open to communicate on the basis of the cross where our human pride collided with the humility of God. Only by humbling ourselves before His might hand, can we be lifted up. David found himself in a pit after committing adultery with Bathsheba and cried out, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise” (Psalms 51:12, 17). .

We often forget our brokenness outside the grace of God. Without Him we can do nothing. The freshness of our relationship with Jesus comes by remembering His Word, His promises, and anticipating His return. Be careful not to allow yourself to find your satisfaction in a hobby, job or other relationship. In Jeremiah 2:13, God said, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

If you are a believer, you have tasted the fullness of Christ and will never be able to find satisfaction in this world again. Joy will come and go when we play see-saw with God’s word and His leading. However, He’s looking for those who are sliding down the slide of consecration, with hands lifted up in worship, and falling forever in love with Him—the One who first loved you and me. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. Jude 1:24-25