Perspective & Purpose

Every now and then I come across words that I may have heard and even used most of my life, and yet I hear them again and they have tremendous impact. Perspective and Purpose are two such words.

In studying Peter in our home group, I've found that Peter had man's perspective in the gospels (does "Get behind me Satan!" sound familiar?) but he had God's perspective in Acts and in the letters he wrote. He also came to really understand the purpose of life, and this understanding served him well in dealing with his own hardships as well as in encouraging others.

Why are these two words so important? I think it's absolutely the only way to make sense of the pain and suffering that we have to endure in this life. And not only make sense of it, but walk through it victoriously with our heads held high. Sometimes when we're in the midst of a battle, it seems impossible . . . but it's because the battle is all we can see. When Peter wrote his letters to the people he knew were suffering so deeply, he didn't try to tell them it wasn't bad. He didn't even try to tell them they shouldn't be suffering (or that if they prayed hard enough, they wouldn't have to). He told them he knew they were suffering, but that the pain would be worth it. What they stood to gain was far greater than the power of the pain. He encouraged them to change their perspective.

So often, we have trouble seeing beyond the things that happen to us here in this world. And a lot of times, these things seem to make or break us. We let everything ride on the here and now... what people are saying about us, what our work situation is, how our spouse is acting, our sickness, our financial situation, etc., etc. And it's all we can see. Our whole prayer life is wrapped up in fixing the situation. Our whole life's attitude is a result of what is happening to us. It's called man's perspective.

But there is something deeper going on. What if instead of praying for our situations to change, we prayed for change in our hearts? What if we prayed for growth? What if we prayed for a faith so strong that we would be able to rise above the pain, no matter how great it is, and be a living testimony to the faithfulness of God? What if instead of praying for the situation to change, we would pray that God give us the strength and the focus to face it head-on, to walk through it with heads held high and faith intact . . . obviously not oblivious to the pain, but with a confidence that His power, His love, and His faithfulness is much greater than the pain.

There are a lot of people in the United States who decide every year they're going to lose weight/get in shape. There are a lot less that actually do it. Let's face it, exercise is exhausting and sometimes even painful. It's hard. And at the same time, we know those brownies on the kitchen counter taste good. But the people who really see the purpose, who really have the perspective . . . they set their minds to it and they do it. It's because it really means something to them.

Once it really means something to us, once we have the perspective, once the purpose has a solid footing inside of us . . . no amount of pain will ever get in our way. We will see it through to the finish. We understand the importance.

I often think that once I get through this life and am standing in heaven with all the understanding I only wish I had here, the thing I'll regret the most is all the time I wasted worrying or being afraid or feeling hurt. I think I'll understand then how small my suffering really was in the whole big scheme of things. Not that it didn't matter, but that I missed the point. The point was for me to grow. The point was for me to become more compassionate or more humble, more patient, stronger in my faith. The point was for me to go forward in my journey. Not to get all tripped up.

And so I pray for perspective. God's perspective. And I pray that I could see our purpose as clearly as Peter did when he encouraged all the people who were suffering. I pray that I don't waste time licking my wounds, but that I learn all I can learn from every situation and continue to press forward. I want to see the true value of my journey, so that no amount of pain will EVER hold me back.