A Better View
by Jill Newman
I stopped into my local health food store the other day and asked one of the clerks if they carried hot cocoa with mushrooms. I was just about to launch into my "it sounds gross, but it's really not bad" speech, when she responded, "Oh, that sounds really good.” I imagine that if I had made this same request at my local Safeway, the response would have been decidedly different.
I chalk this up to perspective. If you are into health and nutrition, you know that certain types of mushrooms are good for your immune system. If not, Hot Mushroom Cocoa sounds like it should be served on the playground along with Mud Pies.
Everything we've seen, read or experienced in life up to this point has formed our perspective. This leads us to have certain expectations about the future. If there’s one thing the past few years have taught us, it’s that change, like death and taxes, is inevitable. And, for many of us, change is frequently associated with fear. We don't like change. Things are comfortable just the way they are, thank you very much, and we don't see a need to alter them. Even those things that aren't great are at least known.
So, how do we adjust our perspective of the possible changes the new year may bring? Can we have expectations more filled with hope than fear?
When I was young, I loved to embroider. As I got better at it, the finished product was quite beautiful. But, when you looked at the back side, it was a confused mess of knots. You couldn't even identify the picture.
Life is like that. We can only see the tangled threads of our current existence, but God's perspective is different. Isaiah 55:8-9 states, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We see life from below, but God has a much better view. Instead of a confused mess of randomness, He sees His beautiful finished work.
What we really need is a Heavenly perspective- to see things through the eyes of the One who knows us best, loves us most and knows the plans He has for us. Our view from down here is incomplete, but as we grow our faith and trust in God through daily prayer and reading His Word, fear will give way to hope.
I don't know what 2023 will bring. But, I know Someone who does. And He will be walking beside us the whole way.
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
What are some things that excite you about the coming year? What are some things that scare you? Make a list and right them down
Do you have any goals, hopes, or dreams for 2023? Write these down as well.
Take a moment to look at the list that you just made of hopes, dreams, fears, and goals and pray about all of them. Ask the Lord for wisdom, for peace, and for guidance. If it helps, write out your prayer in a journal so that you can look back over these things in the coming months.
Read Psalm 37:1-7 and Philippians 4:4-9
Is there anything that stands out to you from either of these passages? Anything that gives you hope or challenges you? Write them down.
Is there anything in either of these passages that you have questions about? Write them down and talk with your small group leader.
Is there any action you can take, habit you can establish, or habit that you can change in your life in light of what these passages say?