The Power of Perspective
“God’s word influences my perspective
My perspective influences how I respond
My response influences the outcome
*100% of the time” –*Dr. Ken Nichols
As we progress through life, there are moments that change our lives forever and oddly enough we do not realize their impact in the moment. It is not until we look back on our lives that we realize the encounter we had or lesson we learned was a turning point in our life. An event that without it we would have never made it to our current place in life. Very rarely do we recognize these seminal moments in our life as we are going through them. Proclivity is to look for big grand experiences that standout like billboards in our lives alerting us to the brevity of the moment, when in fact the most impactful moments in our lives often come in the form of simple unassuming encounters. The type of encounter that most days you do not think twice about having. The type of encounter that you only realize its influence through the indelible impact it made months, even years later when assessing your life.
I had a moment like this years ago as I was in my second semester of my Masters program. It was Wednesday of a weeklong intensive and we had a guest speaker for the morning, a man by the name of Dr. Ken Nichols. Dr. Nichols was and to my knowledge still is a professor at Liberty University but also carried significant credentials in both the clinical world and spiritual world as he was Dr. David Jeremiah’s right hand man for years. As we came into this time of learning the sitting professor made sure the class was prepared for Dr. Nichols unique style of teaching and sense of humor. We were told we would enjoy his teaching and boy did we ever. I cannot remember a time prior to that when a professor caught my attention and made me laugh as much as he did. As I left the classroom that day, I was encouraged and full of one-liners with a plethora of resources for the future. What I did not realize was the greatest resource I took from that day was not a joke, it was not a journal article he wrote or any of the books I purchased. The greatest tool I took from that day was this simple mantra. “God’s word influences my perspective. My perspective influences how I respond. My response influences the outcome…. 100% of the time.”
God’s word influences my perspective
As a Christian my life is filtered through the window of scripture. It is through that filter that I view the world and events around me, it is that filter that influences how I perceive those things as they happen around me. When we look at the Bible like a pair of glasses, we begin to understand the impact God intended his word to have on everyday life. Through the Bible God gives historical records of successful application of concepts, so that the reader has proof that what he is commanding will result in their desired outcome. That evidence creates confidence in the concepts and mandates contained within the pages. As a result, the Bible creates a filter through which all things in life both positive and negative can be viewed. God intended for the Bible to be the interpretative key that mankind uses to understand the world around them and the events that permeate its history. When God’s word is applied to my life and my perspective is filtered through it, I can have confidence that my responses will fall within God’s will.
My perspective influences how I respond
Perspective is a powerful motivator as it can unite or divide, it can lead to life or it can lead to death. Perspective has the ability to take a singular event and illicit multiple different outcomes based solely on the motivation of the perspectives held by those who observing the event. The way an individual views a situation will determine how they respond to that situation. For example if they view a situation as hopeless they are going to respond like they have already been defeated, but if they view that same situation through the filter of what the Bible says about God and his love for them, their will response will be made in an attitude of victory. The perspective an individual carries is always going to determine whether they attack or retreat, stand strong or relent. The world is going to throw obstacles in the way, there is nothing you can do about that but you can do something about the way you view those obstacles. It is your perspective that will determine how you respond. You have a choice, you can either look at those obstacles as a signal of defeat or an opportunity to grow, gain strength and overcome.
My response influences the outcome
Have you ever met someone who it just seems like they always catch the breaks? No matter what happens to them they always come out on top? For whatever reason throughout my life I frequently encounter these types of people. I could never understand how the world we live in was so much kinder to them then it was to me. I would and sometimes still question, what they did to deserve such favor while by extension wondering what I did to deserve such curses. The reality is nothing they nor myself did resulted in one or the other deserving a higher or lower level of favor. Perspective is what separated us. Their perspective was one that allowed them to see what could come from a situation rather than what was lost through it. By looking at things through the perspective of what can be instead of what can’t or what won’t those individuals were able to respond in a way that influenced their outcome in a positive way. For myself on the other hand I struggle with poor perspective and as a result many times my responses to events are less than positive making for less than positive results. I would look at things for what they were not or what I was going to lose instead of what could be learned or gained through the process.
100% of the time
Over the last few years my perspectives have changed significantly, and I have made strides in consistently embracing a more positive perspective. Over this time, I have experienced one of the greatest if not the greatest time of blessing and freedom in my life, which is not to say that there have not been hard times and struggle as there has been. In fact, the last few years have been filled with some of the most difficult and heart wrenching things I have ever had to face but one thing has become abundantly clear. Gods word influences my perspective. My perspective influences how I respond. My response influences the outcome, 100% of the time. My life may not be perfect and your life may not be perfect either but if you allow Gods word to influence your perspective, you will begin to see your circumstances in a whole new way and you will have a clarity like never before. Out of that perspective you will respond in a way that will lead to breakthrough and blessing not failure and curse. As a result, change and growth will take place in your life because when you embrace Gods ways it leads to prosperity not harm to a hope and a future 100% of the time.