Influencers Weekly Devotional- Perspective of a Christ-Centered Person

Perspective of a Christ Centered Person   by   Rocky Fleming       The last few weeks I have received numerous insights from the Lord that have reshaped my perspective toward the point of view He wants me to have. I can see that I needed it, and God wanted me to be blessed by these changes in my outlook. Some of the downloads have dealt with my perspective toward certain people who are a challenge to me to be around, especially a particular family member. In my struggle with my critical thoughts about this person, I heard “Perfect in Christ” spoken to my heart about this Christian sister I've struggled with. This brought on another reminder that the way our Father looks at a fellow follower of Christ is different from my point of view. Then I remembered that I, too, am graced by my Father in heaven, and this is how I am to deal with this E.G.R. (Extra Grace Required) person that is in my life, for to God I am also an E.G.R. He made me “perfect in Christ” as well all His children. This brought peace to my agitated heart, as His perspective flooded into me. It also marked a step toward the right perspective God has been wanting me to have concerning this person.   Next has been the massive amount of negative information coming at me lately about the risk I am in right now with the fight against infection that is in my body. Last week I started to cave in with my strong stand against a perspective of hopelessness, for like all battle weary soldiers, I have been battered and battle fatigue has taken its toll. It is a lonely, isolated condition that battle fatigue brings to us, and we begin to think the enemy is about to overwhelm us, and we have no fight left in us to stand against it. Have you been there? Are you there now with a long term battle you've been in? You are probably like me in that I felt that I needed something that would take me from the doom and gloom of my situation…something or someone to come and hold me up, and give me rest from my thoughts so that I could be restored from my battle weary condition. I needed God's perspective on things. It was in this negative perspective that I heard His voice speaking to my heart.   “Where are you putting your hope? Where is this information coming from that casts you down? Do you believe it or Me?”   Then I remembered that wonderful verse that has comforted me through the years:   Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence. Psalms 42:5 (NASB)   At once the thrill of hope rushed into me and I then heard these words spoken to my heart:   “I alone will determine the outcome. You need to trust Me to find the peace you want.”   At once, the peace of God fell over me. This is a peace that cannot be described or produced simply by getting a positive state of mind. It requires the voice of God and my trust in His word as He speaks through those words to drive peace into my soul. Just like the struggle I had with the person I mentioned, it is a process of getting to the right place in our perspective, and one that God helps us with when we abandon ourselves and our situation by trusting Him completely. Then the peace follows.   This perspective development has shown me that we cannot say we believe one thing and negotiate with another. There will always be a conflict, and it will show itself by the peace we have, or our lack of it. Do I believe that Almighty God is sovereign over all things, including my situation? Do I believe His words that speak to me from the Bible assuring me of His involvement in the details of my life? Will I sell out in my belief of this? Sure, it is easy to teach and preach the theology. We can find the scriptures and repeat them verbatim. Pastors and teachers do it every day. We can say we believe these words, and do a powerful job of looking the part, until we have to literally put our hope in God's promises and nothing else. Then we find out Who or what we really believe. But, what can we do about it to change things if we are ready to do so? Hopefully you are asking this question.   God loves us much too much to allow a conflicted condition to exist in our life without some kind of intervention. But, His intervention most often begins with our trust in His involvement before we ever see it coming. Until then He will permit trials to drive us toward His solutions. While in those trials, we have to take the first step toward Him in faith, by believing that He will respond accordingly. If you will look at Bible history, you will see this has always been the case. Look at Moses and the Red Sea where Moses had to put his staff in the water first before it parted. Look at the Israelites crossing the Jordan into the Promised Land. Look how the priests carrying the Ark had to wade in and stand in the water before the waters were parted. On and on we see that the first step for deliverance has to be our faith in God's promises that He will be there for us when we trust Him. But do we ask Him to be there for us, while trusting in some other solution? If we do, the evidence will be seen clearly with our lack of peace, and a continuation of our problem.   There is an invisible transition required that must take place inside us with finally giving over that fear or person, or situation we struggle with. If we say we trust the Lord, then we must “entrust” what we are dealing with to Him. What He said to me applies here with anyone in this struggle of living out our faith.   “Where are you putting your hope? Where is this information coming from that casts you down? Do you believe it or Me?”   “I alone will determine the outcome. You need to trust Me to find the peace you want.”   If you believe these words and promises, then you must practice this belief. When I heard His voice, He told me what I was wanting to know. I wanted to know the problem and the solution. He gave me both. The result is the peace I speak of, and yes, I believe my body is being healed as well. Now, if you are in that world of going back and forth with your faith by still worrying about the outcome, you must commit whatever you are struggling with to the Lord and leave it there. Declare once and for all that your sovereign God, and He alone, will determine the outcome of your situation. Wade into the water up to your ankles, your waste, your shoulders or to your nose, while standing on your toes, if necessary. Declare your faith, live it out, entrust your burden to God, and take the peace that follows. Know this for sure. He will be there for you. And, oh yes, there was one more thing the Lord said to me. This assurance goes out to you, as well. He said to me:   I've got this!!!