Perception

Indeed, things are not always exactly like they first appear.
 

How we perceive a thing will determine its size and the kind of threat it poses.

Two men go to a junk yard. One sees useless metal pieces, the other sees a spare parts business.

So what do you see?

“Perception travels half way around the world before reality gets out of bed”
 

Perception determines response; response determines outcome.

 Have you ever noticed two people tackling a similar problem.  One proceeds effortlessly while the other struggles.  Have you then noticed the previously struggling individual tackle another problem effortlessly.  He shrinks from the first problem because he has been programmed to see it as impossible.  He confronts the next problem fearlessly because he is more familiar with it.
 

What dilemma have you found yourself in lately?  Are you about to make a major decision, one you have never made before? Are you getting married? Are you starting a new job? Are you about to take a difficult exam? Are you launching out into a ministry? Or are you starting a business?
 

Regardless of what it is, life can seem overwhelming from time to time.
 

Isn’t it true that every day we are presented with opportunities to make decisions that may affect major parts of our lives.  For many of us, we feel like we are in a dark room.  We cannot find the light switch. So we proceed cautiously.  We are sweating mentally, and our hearts are crying out, “who is there”?  Our fears are further compounded as no answer seems to come. Then we open the Word of God.  The lights come on, and there is the object of our fears staring us right in the face.

For the most part, it is not really the decision that makes us fearful.  We doubt our  capabilities to make the right ones.  So we encourage others to take leaps of faith, while we tremble to take steps of our own.
 

In many cases, it is all in our minds!
 

Every one of us is faced with complicated circumstances in life.  In most cases they appear complicated because we have never faced them before.  So our natural inclination is to react instead of respond.
 

Response suggests that an assessment of the situation has been made. It is while assessing the situation that we realize that other people have faced similar situations,  and survived to tell the story.  More importantly, God is on our side. There is therefore hope in our case.

There is nothing in life beyond the power of God’s Word!  There is nothing we have faced or will face that supersedes the power of God.

David saw Goliath as a defeated foe. The Israelite soldiers saw Goliath as an undisputed, unconquerable opponent.  Yet they never faced Goliath to be able to tell if his image matched his boast. It is interesting to know that they (David and the Israelite army) were all a part of the same covenant.
 

To change our perceptions we must change our reference point.

In the book of Revelation, John had been shown the past, and the present. But when God was going to show him the future, we read:

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like [the calling of] a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future.” (Revelation 4:1 AMP)
 

You will never rise above the level of your lid! It is time to expand your horizon.
 

It is time for every one of us to come to a higher level.  We must cease to view life from a mere human perspective.  When we gain God’s perspective on an issue, suddenly, we realize that it is not as bad as it first appeared.