Keeping the Right – Big Picture – Perspective

This past weekend Brad Bigney and I both had the privilege to speak together in Bozeman, Montana. Over the course of the weekend, we both addressed two different groups from Psalm 73. Brad discussed Do You Ever Doubt God’s Goodness and I discussed Perspective on Life, Ministry, and God’s Sovereignty from Psalm 73. Brad used an illustration of trips to New York City and gaining perspective of the city from atop the Empire State Building. As he spoke I thought of flying in my friend’s plane while noticing the same phenomena as Brad. In short, when you have the right perspective, you can understand your surroundings much better, while understanding your immediate circumstances better as well. The key: keeping the right perspective.

What a difference in perspective depending upon the point of view…

My friend, Wayne Walker, a private pilot and member of the staff at Grace Bible Church, took me up to look at the Gallatin Valley, where the Gallatin River helps make up the headwaters of the Missouri River and where Bozeman, Montana sits.

From this vantage point, I can see the three rivers which come from various directions out of different mountain ranges. It is easy to see how they come together to make the Missouri River.

Further, I can see how the city of Bozeman lays out. There are key places that I have visited and hiked. From the vantage point of the plane, it is easy to put all those things together.

In other words, from up in the plane, what is a bit harder to understand from the ground becomes clearer.

From Psalm 73 – Keeping the Right – Big Picture – Perspective

Asaph, the psalm’s author, struggled with the prosperity of the wicked. So much so, he was ready to give up on faith. He described that his spiritual feet had nearly slipped. As he observed the prosperity, attitude, and lifestyle of the wicked, he was overwhelmed.

“How could God bless the wicked, yet make his life so miserable?”

Halfway through the psalm, he was able to get a much better and godly perspective. He describes it, “Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end” (Psalm 73:17).

Life began to make more and better sense as he focused on God’s perspective of his life and living, rather than his own.

Back to our plane illustration. Life made better sense when he could get a glimpse of what was going on from God’s perspective, which was much higher than his own. He could understand from that vantage point; whereas, from his vantage point alone, he could not get high enough to understand the things going on around him.

Today, and this week, read the Bible, consider what it says, and think through how it applied to you and your life. Get God’s perspective. Work everyday on reading a bit more – Keeping the Right – Big Picture – Perspective.

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