"there are always 2 sides to a coin and it takes two hands to clap"
familiar sayings suggesting that it usually takes two to understand something and two to complete the picture. It's about perspectives. Seeing things from our point of view either makes us very happy people or sad people. It just depends on which angle we view the matter through the type of lenses.
A person who has suffered major rejection from close family members will grow up feeling more rejection than love, hence when he or she gets turned down by others will feel a tremondous hurt. Yet those who turn the person down did not have the intention to injure that person emotionally. An objective and genuine "NO" can cause that person to feel low and lousy about himself or herself. Another person with a more positive outlook of life will take the "NO" objectively rather than personally. It's about how a person has been "configured" throughout the years. Experiences of life will either make us more sound or more cynical. The world wants us to be more cynical and that's for sure. It wants to hardened us so we become even more selfish, possessive and protective of our lives and emotions.
I realized it's important for us not ONLY to see God from our perspectives but to see God from His perspectives. I like The Message, translation of Isaiah 55:9 ff
familiar sayings suggesting that it usually takes two to understand something and two to complete the picture. It's about perspectives. Seeing things from our point of view either makes us very happy people or sad people. It just depends on which angle we view the matter through the type of lenses.
A person who has suffered major rejection from close family members will grow up feeling more rejection than love, hence when he or she gets turned down by others will feel a tremondous hurt. Yet those who turn the person down did not have the intention to injure that person emotionally. An objective and genuine "NO" can cause that person to feel low and lousy about himself or herself. Another person with a more positive outlook of life will take the "NO" objectively rather than personally. It's about how a person has been "configured" throughout the years. Experiences of life will either make us more sound or more cynical. The world wants us to be more cynical and that's for sure. It wants to hardened us so we become even more selfish, possessive and protective of our lives and emotions.
I realized it's important for us not ONLY to see God from our perspectives but to see God from His perspectives. I like The Message, translation of Isaiah 55:9 ff
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think."
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think."
God sees from ABOVE while we see from BELOW. Our Father sees very differently from what we see. God sees his overall purpose being fulfilled but we see our needs/prayers being met or not met. When we keep on trying to see God from our perspective, we missed the overall picture of what God is seeing. One interesting story from the bible illustrates this quite aptly. The story of Joseph. He had a great future but he didn't know it had to start from the pits. As he endured the injustices and trials leading to his vision being fulfilled, he saw the overall picture more than he saw his vision not fulfilled. If he had not seen God's way being above his own sufferings, he would have complained, fought for his freedom and left Eygpt. His promotion was God's way of honouring Him and as Rev. Reinhard Bonnke put it at last weekend's "Fire Conference" - God's purpose has many stratas. God promoted Joseph, throught that, Joseph had the revelation from God that famine would hit the land, store up enough for the nation and for his family, reunited with his family and was instrumental in preserving the nation - Israel whom God will deliver and use.
I see only so much from my own perspective. When I keep on seeing God from my perspective, I lose sight of the whole of what God is doing around me. He is not just concerned about ME, He cares and love everybody around me and will use anybody who says, I am willing. It's high time I train myself to constantly seek God's point of view not just about ME or MINE but about the whole. While I may not see the FULL picture as He does, I will be willing to play that small part, He wants me to play.
I see only so much from my own perspective. When I keep on seeing God from my perspective, I lose sight of the whole of what God is doing around me. He is not just concerned about ME, He cares and love everybody around me and will use anybody who says, I am willing. It's high time I train myself to constantly seek God's point of view not just about ME or MINE but about the whole. While I may not see the FULL picture as He does, I will be willing to play that small part, He wants me to play.
Comments
How naive.
In the end, we are emotional creatures, led as much by our emotions as we are by our rationality. As a result, we interpret "no" differently, according to how we feel.
I don't think it's that the world wants us to be cynical. It's just who we are, it's in our primal nature. We are made that way. So we just have to live with it. And that means dealing with rejection differently.
Did that sound too cynical?
i have a tendency to swing to extremes and is fully capable of turning cynical whenever I see things from my perspectives ONLY. It gets real baddd when I only see one side of the coin.
Now, I try to see what I go through, my life from HIS perspective instead of just mine alone. Not easy but not naive either. :)