The Mind ConnectionSample

The Power of Perspective

Each of us has a perspective on life; we see and think about things in a specific way. Some people are quick to see all the problems and magnify them, while others make a choice to minimize them and look for the good in life. In these verses, it doesn’t sound like Paul’s circumstances could have been much worse, yet in the midst of them, we see a glimmer of hope and an attitude that refused to quit!

Anyone who will refuse to give up, no matter how challenging life may be, is far better off than someone who is without challenges. Why? Because a positive attitude will allow us to have joy even in the midst of a trying time.

Our perspective involves our thoughts, which also affect our moods. If I am in a bad mood, perhaps I am looking too much at what I don’t have and not enough at what I do have. Or I may be looking at what people don’t do for me, instead of what they do for me.

This applies to events of the past. When I learned to think of the abuse in my childhood as something that could be used by God for good, the pain began to lessen and I began to heal emotionally. As long as I resented my father for sexually abusing me and my mother for not protecting me, I had a wound in my soul that could not heal. But when I decided to try to understand the way my father was raised, and my mother’s fear, I actually started feeling more sorry for them than I did for me.

I encourage you to begin viewing life’s challenges in a positive, faith-filled way. The good thing about faith is that it keeps you joyful and energized while you are trusting God to change the current reality. There’s no one who escapes difficult times, but with the right perspective, we can let God use them to make us stronger.

Make the Mind Connection: Choosing the right perspective can help make difficult times easier and fill your life with joy.

Adapted from The Mind Connection by Joyce Meyer. Copyright © 2015 by Joyce Meyer. Reprinted with permission of FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc. All rights reserved.