GETTING A BETTER PERSPECTIVE

GETTING A BETTER PERSPECTIVE

Question: I know problems are part of life, but I can’t seem to get on top of mine long enough to catch my breath. How can I overcome my problems, before they overcome me?

Answer: Your lament sounds rather like what King David expressed: “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.” This wish to be able to put aside all your problems and worries and to feel free is a longing everyone experiences at one time or another. Unfortunately, there is no easy, magical formula to make problems simply disappear. What we can do is learn to control the effect that our problems, both real and imaginary, have on us.

One sure-fire way to strengthen your spirit is to adopt an attitude of praise and thanks to God, even through the rough times. No matter how badly things are going or how seemingly hopeless the situation, it is always possible to find something to be thankful for if you look hard enough—not the least of which is that God stands ready to prove Himself a “very present help in time of trouble.”

That positive, praiseful attitude will lighten your burdens and help you bear them. It brings on inspiration and renewed strength. It gives you wings to rise above your problems and the doubt, fear, and worry that accompany them. It lifts your spirit above the earthly plane and into the heavenlies. Even though it doesn’t necessarily remove the problems you’re facing, it gives you a much better outlook and perspective on them—a heavenly perspective, infused with faith in the positive outcome God has promised to those who love Him.

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Psalm 55:6 (ESV) And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest;

Psalm 46:1 (ESV) God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

Romans 8:28 (ESV) And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Onyedikachi Kingsley Ogbonna (Surv.)