Read Hebrews 12:1–2
What is perspective?
Well, it’s obviously related to the way we view something. The term literally suggests “looking through...seeing clearly.” One who views life through perspective lenses has the capacity to see things in their true relations or relative importance. He sees the big picture. She is able to distinguish the incidental from the essential...the temporary from the eternal...the partial from the whole...the trees from the forest.
The artist without perspective is, in Shakespeare’s words, “weary, stale, flat and unprofitable.” The leader without it is visionless, intimidated, vulnerable, and overly concerned with public opinion.
Perspective adds a breath of fresh air to the otherwise suffocating demands of life. It opens new dimensions that enable us to cope with the predictable...it eases the tyranny of the urgent. Perspective provides needed space.
Perspective encourages the new mother, “Life is more than changing diapers, warming bottles, and rocking babies to sleep.” It helps convince the young medical intern, “These long months of training and sleepless nights are worth it all. Stay alert. Your whole future is at stake.”
To the patient struggling against the silent advances of cancer, it offers hope in the unseen.
Many things help prompt divine perspective. Quietness. A walk around the lake. Time spent along the roaring surf. A view from a mountain. Poetry. Travel. A stroll through an old graveyard. An evening beside a fireplace. Protracted times of prayer. Deep, profound strains of music. Meaningful worship. Meditation upon Scriptures. A leisurely drive at sunset. And...truth.
Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Hebrews 12:1–2)
How’s that for perspective?
Devotional content taken from Good Morning, Lord...Can We Talk? by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2018. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries. All rights reserved.
The full devotional can be purchased at https://www.tyndale.com/p/good-morning-lord-can-we-talk/9781414380681.
