by Janee Hawks

The church of Jesus Christ must learn to look through the lens of God’s perspective in all things if we are going to walk by faith, learn to love and to be a message of hope in this world. The eternal wisdom and mysteries of God belong to us in Christ. We read where Jesus reprimanded Peter as he spoke, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” This is a strong word and warns us that apart from God’s view we can fail miserably to align with God’s great redemptive plan and His eternal purpose. The path chosen for us can be lost if we look at circumstances with our natural wisdom or human point of view.

Peter has this great revelation: Matthew 16:15-17

Jesus said, “Who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John, because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. Jesus now Predicts His Death in the very same setting in Matthew 16:21-24;” from then on Jesus began to tell his disciples plainly that it was necessary for him to go to Jerusalem, and that he would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day he would be raised from the dead. But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!” Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.” Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish (SELF) ways, take up your cross, and follow me.

Peter was not so different than you and I would have been. He wanted to protect Jesus. However, this message from scripture clearly warns us that “our mere human view” can quickly blind us and can even be a tool or trap of the devil. Our emotions, or soul ties, tragedies, trials, error, bad environments, or negative friends, etc can easily influence the way we see things. The world around us is blinded to truth, they only see in their own realities. Like Peter, even when we live as close to God as we know how; even when the Father reveals to us great things as he did Peter we still must stay spiritually awake and diligently take every thought into the captivity of Jesus. [a] We are responsible to test the thoughts of our minds renew the meditations of our hearts to God’s ways through the word of God and a intimate relationship. By faith, we have full access to God’s wisdom and understanding in Christ, but it takes a thirst to know Him and hunger to do His will.

If we only see the things that take place in our lives or in this world with our natural eyes or own understanding then we are in danger of being a trap with the wrong voice. We will tend to become depressed or discouraged in fear or bitterness binding us from faith that moves God. We were created to live higher than this life to see with the eyes of our hearts where the Spirit of God within us reveals to us the deep things of God. We are created to see and obtain the great things God has planned for those who love Him. If we consistently seek to know God’s point of view on everything we will know great victories and rewards. We will be able to see all people easier in the light of God’s amazing love. We will see what is going on around us in the light of His great mercy that triumphs over His perfect justice. We need to remember God hides in our discomforts, our difficulties and our sacrifices to bless us. The inner life of peace and joy is found in aligning our mind and heart with “God’s viewpoint.”

The shakings going on in this world today or in our own personal lives compels us to look for an eternal perspective which will help us to understand that God is preparing us and this world for His coming. He is shaking it to remove injustice, evil, and deceptions of all kinds. We must trust God’s unfathomable love. Here is a God who gave His only Son to suffer more severe punishment than any man and die on a cross to pay the sin debt of the whole world. Here is a Jesus who chose to become sin at its fullest in our place so we could become sons and heirs of God forever.[b] For the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross; He looked into eternity and saw the salvation of mankind and all creation.[c]

We need reminded often that this is our Fathers world. And we can trust that His love will never fail for His creation. The Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of all, upholds the universe with the mighty word of his power. Nothing escapes Him or surprises Him. The wonderful thing is we can know and see His plan if we seek Him. In Christ we have an incredible promise that will keep our hearts looking for God’s view in all life’s circumstances. God is not just a promise maker. He is also a promise keeper. God promises that He will work ALL THINGS together for our good. We know that whatever we face in this life will have a purpose to make us more like Jesus. [d] The more like Jesus we become the more of heaven will live in our hearts and lives.

In conclusion, God wants to open the eyes of our understanding to His wisdom and revelation of all the happenings of our lives, and awaken us to His good purposes in them all. God wants us to fulfill our mission in life more than we do. I believe God just wants us to wake up; to have an eternal perspective and a much larger view, “God’s view” on everything. Holy Spirit is so faithful. If we stop, look and listen He will guide us on our God chosen path and help us not be caught in mind traps of leaning on our own understanding or trusting in “our mere human point of view.” Amen.

[a] 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 [b] 2Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 4:6-7 [c] Hebrews 12:2-3 [d] Romans 8:28-29