Amy Tindell Don’t rejoice in successful service to God, but rejoice in our right relationship with God…whatever your circumstances may be, you have been placed in them by God. And God uses the reaction of your life to your circumstances to fulfill His purpose.
-Oswald Chambers, “My Utmost for His Highest”, August 30
I’m always amazed at how seeing things from God’s perspective changes everything…including how I pray. I’ll admit, most of the time I pray from my perspective. I pray for what I think God should do, not what God thinks God should do. It’s not that those prayers are wrong. Any prayer to God is useful in strengthening a person’s relationship with God. If they’re listening to God, He will redirect them to pray as He wants.
I know that as I pray for people each day, God changes how I perceive what I’m praying for. More and more I find that I will begin praying for something I believe God wants or what the person I’m praying for believes God wants, but God stops me. He shows me the heart of the problem. He shows me how things look from His perspective. He gives me the words to pray for what is needed even when it’s not always what is wanted. Seeing problems from God’s perspective changes much of the way I pray.
I was reminded again yesterday as someone prayed for my healing, that God is using this illness. Without it, I would never have left teaching. I would keep rushing through life and not stopping to enjoy my family and truly seek God’s best. I would have missed the new adventure He has for me. It’s not what I wished for, but it is a tool that God is using to slow me down and force me to take another look at my priorities.
C.S. Lewis once said, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.”
I’ve been on several adventures with God during my life so far. All of them required sacrifice in some form, and often pain or discomfort. If I hadn’t spent two years in Africa, I wouldn’t have been in the accident or seen true poverty firsthand…but I would have missed God teaching me the importance of valuing others. If I hadn’t gone to New Orleans for a few years, I would have avoided hurricanes and financial strain…but I would have missed learning how to relate my relationship with God and my relationships with others. If we hadn’t moved to New Mexico, we could have avoided the pain of failure and strain of fostering…but I would have missed the lessons on perseverance and hope.
I wouldn’t trade any of these adventures to escape the pain or get back what I lost. I have no regrets about following God’s lead and praying Jeremiah 29:11 as a promise. He knows the plans He has for me…plans to give me a future and hope from His perspective as long as I am in a relationship with Him.
