oh perspective...

Perspective changes everything. The way I view things can make all the difference in how I act and react to each situation presented during the day. From standing on mountaintops to walking through the valleys of this life, my perspective defines who I am and affects the decisions (short and long term) that I have to make. 

I have been listening to Alistair Begg's radio program, Truth for Life. The current weekend series is focusing on David and Goliath. I know everyone has heard the story of David and Goliath. I have heard it so many times growing up. So why is Pastor Begg doing a three-part series around it, entitled "It's All About God"? And what could I possibly gain from it? 

The answer: a new perspective. This life can be bumpy, unforgiving, heart-breaking and messy. Each day has its own set of problems. We carry baggage that seems to stick like glue. Life is hard. It is the giant-Goliath- and it would like to swallow us whole. It is so easy to give up, to tell this life-you win and just crumble. That is, if we base our perspective on what is in our line of sight, at our eye-level. 

David didn't understand what the Israelite's had been doing for the last 40 days. He didn't understand what they were so afraid of. In 1 Samuel 17:26b, David asks, "Just who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the Living God?" 

David's oldest brother, Eliab, gets angry with him and calls him arrogant. He belittles him and asks him who is watching the sheep and why did he come down here-just to see the battle? Instead of responding to him, David says that he will fight Goliath. Saul tells him that he can't-that he is just a youth, but David defends his position and how he has protected his sheep from lions and bears. In the end, Saul tells David that he may go battle Goliath and tries to give him military clothes and weapons. However, David isn't used to them and leaves them behind. Goliath sees David approaching and begins to make fun of him, cursing him and mocking him. David responds in verse 45, "You come against me with a dagger, spear and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel's armies-you have defied Him. Today the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I'll strike you down, cut your head off and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's. He will hand you over to us." 

What perspective David had! It was not all about him. It was not about his size or strength, the armor or weapons he had (or didn't have). It was all about God- David was fighting in the name of Yahweh, the God of Israel's armies, the Living God. David's perspective was that the battle was the Lord's and that He would hand the Philistines over. David was focused on the One who mattered-the One who had brought the Israelites this far and had proven Himself faithful over and over and over again. 

It is not about me. It is not about you. This life is about God. It is about focusing on Him and Him alone. It is about glorifying Him and spreading the Gospel news. When our perspective is on God, when we realize that each day is about Him, that all the decisions we make and the actions and reactions we have in each situation reflect Him, what we thought was once important, the things of this world, will fade away.  

Linking with Inspire Me Monday , Monday Musings and Titus 2 Tuesday