Today’s featured article is written by Loretta Dalton.
I recently heard a beautiful message delivered by Beth Ann Williams, Executive Director-Treasurer for the Georgia Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union and guest speaker at First Baptist Church of Cornelia. One of the most thought provoking aspects of her sermon was actually an exercise. She asked the congregation to hold their index finger above their head and rotate it in a clockwise direction. From this perspective all fingers appeared to be rotating clockwise. She then asked audience members to lower their finger to chest level while still rotating clockwise and look down upon it. The perspective suddenly changed; all fingers appeared to be rotating counterclockwise.
The word, perspective, stayed on my mind for hours after I participated in this exercise. I began to think of the many times I have viewed things in my life with no regard to God’s perspective, thinking only of how I was effected, giving little to no thought for God’s plan in the situation. To steal a phrase from “The Shack” by Wm. Paul Young, I began to think of how the aftermath of my “great sadness” looks to my God. What is His perspective?
Viewing the losses of my life from my perspective, I see sadness, failure, disappointment, grief, regrets and emptiness. However, I believe that from God’s perspective healing, restoration, deliverance, peace and hope can be seen. Just as the rotating finger looked totally different depending on the perspective, so do the things in my life when I view them from God’s vantage point. What I view as the greatest sadness anyone could endure, God sees as the deliverance of a soul from the sin and disease of this fallen world. Although God did not bring the “great sadness” to my life, He allowed it and knowing God as Father and Savior, I have no problem believing that He can bring good from the very worst situations if we allow ourselves to embrace His goodness. We can find peace in all things if we are willing to seek His peace and pursue His will for our lives. With His strength, we can continue on.
My story is not a lot different from yours. We all face some type of “great sadness” in our lives; many of us live with broken hearts. My prayer is that the glory of God will shine through the brokenness so that all will see that His grace is sufficient; His way is best; His perspective is the only one we need.
