They say that perception is reality. That’s just stupid. Reality is reality no matter how I perceive it because it is objective. But how I perceive reality will determine how I make decisions, which will effect reality. Reality is defined as actual being or existence of any thing; truth; fact; in distinction from mere appearance. Perception is how I understand it to be.
Our perception of reality can be wrong. Some Christians look at the world around them with rose-colored glasses. They don’t see what is going on around them because it affects their perception of what they want reality to be. So, like the ostrich, they stick their head in the sand until the problems go away.
Like the Robert Browning Poem,
THE year 's at the spring, And day 's at the morn; Morning 's at seven; The hill-side 's dew-pearl'd; The lark 's on the wing;The snail 's on the thorn; God 's in His heaven— All's right with the world!
That statement isn’t 100% accurate by the way. God is in His Heaven alright. No doubt about that. He’s high and lifted up on His throne, but not all is right with the world. He knows.
Problems don’t just go away!
Others, well, all they see is their problems.
And God is not an ostrich either! We need to stop acting like He is!
Paul is saying that we need to have the proper perspective. We have a God who cares. We have a God who is able. We have a God who knows.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
God sees our affliction. He hears our cries. He knows our sorrows. But He sees what we don’t.
The story is told about a mother who had severely disfigured arms. Her teenage daughter was embarrassed by them. When they were at the mall, the mother was paying for her daughter’s merchandise and when she reached forth her hand, the clerk at the counter gasped. The daughter was so embarrassed by the ordeal that she told her mother about it in the car. The mother, obviously hurt by the attitude of her daughter, chose not to react. Once she cooled down, she went to her daughters room and sat on the corner of her bed. She said, “You don’t know this, but when you were a baby, our house caught on fire. I could’ve ran out the front door with no harm, but I couldn’t imagine living my life without you. So I went to your room where you were sleeping and it was engulfed in flames. I ran into the room through the flames and grabbed you out of your crib and ran back through the flames out the front door with my arms on fire. Although the pain was beyond excruciating, all I could do was rejoice that my daughter wasn’t burned at all.” The daughter began weeping. She never looked at her mother the same.
Her perspective changed.
How do we change our perspective?
We focus on what is true. Where do we find truth? In Jesus. In Scripture. We focus on what is honest. What is honesty? It is what is right. We focus on what is just. What is just? God’s dealings with us. We focus on what is pure. What is pure? God’s holy character. We focus on what is lovely. What is more lovely than a mother saving her child? A God sending His Son to die in our place and redeem us. What is a good report? (Definitely not CNN) The news of what God is doing in the lives of those who trust in Him. We focus on virtue. What is virtue? Moral goodness. We focus on praise. What is praise?
Praise is focusing on the fact that although my problems are beyond me, they are not beyond God. He is far above them all. Not in distance, but in power.
What is Paul trying to get us to do? To get our minds off the problems and onto the God who is able.
The Perspective of Praise
They say that perception is reality. That’s just stupid. Reality is reality no matter how I perceive it because it is objective. But how I perceive reality will determine how I make decisions, which will effect reality. Reality is defined as actual being or existence of any thing; truth; fact; in distinction from mere appearance. Perception is how I understand it to be.
Our perception of reality can be wrong. Some Christians look at the world around them with rose-colored glasses. They don’t see what is going on around them because it affects their perception of what they want reality to be. So, like the ostrich, they stick their head in the sand until the problems go away.
Like the Robert Browning Poem,
THE year 's at the spring, And day 's at the morn; Morning 's at seven; The hill-side 's dew-pearl'd; The lark 's on the wing; The snail 's on the thorn; God 's in His heaven— All's right with the world!
That statement isn’t 100% accurate by the way. God is in His Heaven alright. No doubt about that. He’s high and lifted up on His throne, but not all is right with the world. He knows.
Problems don’t just go away!
Others, well, all they see is their problems.
And God is not an ostrich either! We need to stop acting like He is!
Paul is saying that we need to have the proper perspective. We have a God who cares. We have a God who is able. We have a God who knows.
Exodus 3:7
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
God sees our affliction. He hears our cries. He knows our sorrows. But He sees what we don’t.
The story is told about a mother who had severely disfigured arms. Her teenage daughter was embarrassed by them. When they were at the mall, the mother was paying for her daughter’s merchandise and when she reached forth her hand, the clerk at the counter gasped. The daughter was so embarrassed by the ordeal that she told her mother about it in the car. The mother, obviously hurt by the attitude of her daughter, chose not to react. Once she cooled down, she went to her daughters room and sat on the corner of her bed. She said, “You don’t know this, but when you were a baby, our house caught on fire. I could’ve ran out the front door with no harm, but I couldn’t imagine living my life without you. So I went to your room where you were sleeping and it was engulfed in flames. I ran into the room through the flames and grabbed you out of your crib and ran back through the flames out the front door with my arms on fire. Although the pain was beyond excruciating, all I could do was rejoice that my daughter wasn’t burned at all.” The daughter began weeping. She never looked at her mother the same.
Her perspective changed.
How do we change our perspective?
We focus on what is true. Where do we find truth? In Jesus. In Scripture. We focus on what is honest. What is honesty? It is what is right. We focus on what is just. What is just? God’s dealings with us. We focus on what is pure. What is pure? God’s holy character. We focus on what is lovely. What is more lovely than a mother saving her child? A God sending His Son to die in our place and redeem us. What is a good report? (Definitely not CNN) The news of what God is doing in the lives of those who trust in Him. We focus on virtue. What is virtue? Moral goodness. We focus on praise. What is praise?
Praise is focusing on the fact that although my problems are beyond me, they are not beyond God. He is far above them all. Not in distance, but in power.
What is Paul trying to get us to do? To get our minds off the problems and onto the God who is able.
Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.