Category Archives: new perspective

The New Year–what will it be?

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2017 is gone. So many of my friends were happy to see it go. Some celebrated that it was a banner year for them. Where are you on that spectrum? I’m more in the middle. There were some amazing things that happened this past year, but also there were some hard things that I had to walk through. It’s life. Right?

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What will 2018 bring? Honestly, I don’t know. But God does. He sees all that has happened, all that is happening, and all that will happen. He is beyond time. He is preparing you and me right now for what will happen next week, month, and throughout the year. My hope is not in the year but in the Lord. Of course, I am hoping for certain things to happen. Good things. Who doesn’t? But my faith and hope does not hinge on whether those things happen or not. I love the verse from Daniel, where his friends are asked to bow to an idol. They refuse. They tell Nebuchadnezzar, “we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-18) Oh, how powerful is that! “But even if He does not…!”

Many times last year, that was my mantra. Over and over, I clung to God and said those words…”But even if You do not, I’m still going to serve only You. I’m going to worship only You.” It’s a choice. Let’s make that choice today. No matter what happens this year, we’re going to cling to the Lord.

Let’s say, “Yes, Lord!” on the good days and even on the hard days. Then no matter what happens in 2018, it will be a great year.

A New Heart, A New View

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This morning, my husband and I went out early to walk on the beach. The waves were rough and as we headed west toward storm clouds we thought we might get rained on. The clouds darkened and swelled. Finally, long after we’d passed our turn-around point, we stopped and headed back for the rental house. When we did, we saw a beautiful sunrise in the east, the sun pushing away a thin layer of pale clouds.

Sometimes life seems dark and ominous and yet when we turn, when we gain a new perspective, we see the promise and hope coming over the horizon.

Not too many years ago, my husband called me one evening and I could hear something in his voice. Something was wrong. He’d been laid off. Of course, we immediately saw the dark storm clouds threatening our lives. Yet, that devastating change, painful as it was, also brought us new opportunities. Looking back, we can both see it was a blessing.

But it’s often hard to get a new perspective when we’re in the midst of a storm, when the wind is churning around us and thunder is rumbling, when we’re suffering and in pain. If we look for God’s perspective in the situation, it can help us to see the storm for what it is. Maybe it’s helping us grow. Maybe it’s bringing a change and a blessing. Maybe we can’t understand why but we can see that it’s brief.

How do we get God’s perspective? For me, I read the bible and through reading God’s word I gain better understanding of myself and the situations I’m going through.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26

What storm have you weathered that when you gained God’s perspective or looked at the sky from a different perspective you garnered a new appreciation for what you were going through?