LOOKING AT LIFE THRU GOD’S GLASSES: PROBLEMS OR POSSIBILITIES – PART 5
When you look at people and events, do you see problems or possibilities? It depends on your glasses. Human glasses see problems – God’s glasses see possibilities!
When God called Gideon to go to battle, Gideon saw a huge problem. (Judges 6-8) The enemy had so many more soldiers than he did. There was no way he could win.
But God was looking through a different set of glasses. He could see that the other army was much bigger, but he saw the possibilities of what He could teach Gideon if his army was even smaller. He then gave him an exercise to downsize his army from 10,000 to 300. You can imagine how much this turn of events enlarged Gideon’s problem.
God then showed Gideon the possibilities of victory. He helped him put down his normal glasses and look at the situation through His glasses. Gideon went to battle with only 300 men and was victorious!!
A basic principle in life is that when we look at things through human glasses, it’s easy to see problems. Looking at things through God’s glasses enables us to see possibilities.
Naaman was a great military general, but he had leprosy. (2 Kings 5:1-14) Everybody saw that as a problem, but a little prophet named Elisha saw it as a possibility. The prophet instructed him to go dunk himself seven times in the dirty Jordan River.
The mere thought of that caused people to see a huge problem. Open sores of leprosy were being exposed to filthy water. But the prophet insisted that Naaman look through God’s glasses and obey him. Naaman did. Seven times he went underwater in the Jordan.
On the seventh time, he came out of the water and his skin was as pure as a baby’s skin! Get that – not a problem of leprosy, but a possibility of complete healing. God used a little slave girl and a prophet to introduce Naaman to using God’s glasses. Look at the result!
When people see something and say that it is impossible, remember that is their perspective – not yours. You have a different set of glasses through which you’re looking which keeps presenting possibilities. God’s glasses redefine what is possible!
In the 1300s, there was a huge sign placed on a Western edge of Spain carrying the Latin phrase, “ne plus ultra,” which means “No more beyond.” People thought that nothing existed beyond that coast.
But in 1492, Columbus discovered that there was a world beyond Spain. That changed “ne plus ultra.” The world experienced a new possibility. A new slogan began to appear on the currency of all the coins “plus ultra – more beyond.”
Some people look at life each day through glasses that bear the sign “no more beyond.” God’s glasses have a huge hologram saying “plus ultra – more beyond.”
What do you see – problems or possibilities?
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Obstacles or Opportunities – Part 1
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Burdens or Blessings – Part 2
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Stumbling Block or Stepping Stone – Part 3
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Grumbling or Gratitude – Part 4
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Problems or Possibilities – Part 5
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: I or WE – Part 6
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Getting or Giving – Part 7
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: A Sad Situation or a Simple Solution? – Part 8
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Bib or Apron? – Part 9
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Negative Circumstances or Positive Responses – Part 10
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Counting Points or Counting People? – Part 11
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Selfishness or Servanthood – Part 12
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Two Different Olympic Ceremonies – Part 13
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Fake or Real – Part 14
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Success or Significance – Part 15
- Looking at Life Thru God’s Glasses: Rules or Relationships – Part 16
- Looking Thru God’s Glasses: Chance or Change – Part 17