The Path Of A Peacemaker A Devotional By P. Brian NobleSample

“God’s Perspective”

In biblical peacemaking, we want to get beyond our own perspective and the other person’s perspective to God’s perspective. So, what does God’s perspective look like?

First, God has a heart perspective. 

First Samuel 16:7 and its surrounding passage are about David, but we also learn something about God and how he interacts with humankind. God evaluates all our internals because internals, not externals, are most important. 

In any given situation, God has a distinctly different perspective. He’s looking at not only our outward actions but also our hearts. He’s filtering every experience, every injustice, and every tension through his Son, Jesus.

Second, God weighs our motives to reveal our perspectives.

Proverbs 16:2 reminds us that the Holy Spirit takes each element of our stories and weighs not only the facts but also the motives behind those facts. We have all been in a conversation with someone we want to impress. We may exaggerate or even stretch the facts. God knows and weighs those motives.

Your perspective may seem right in your eyes, and my perspective may seem right in my eyes, but we need to ask the Lord to show us our motives.

Third, God searches our hearts and tests our minds so that we may see our perspectives. 

We learn this final truth from Jeremiah 17:9–10. How God searches our hearts and tests our minds is beyond me. However, I do know that our thoughts before, during, and after tension are very important to God. 

One of the key elements of our minds is where we set (or focus) our thoughts. If we want to gain a true perspective on a situation, we must be willing to set our minds on the things above (Col. 3:1–2). Once our minds are fixed on God’s perspective, we will pass the heart test. 

Here’s a simple exercise to begin gaining God’s perspective on a conflict you are involved in: write or say a prayer asking God to look inside you, weigh your motives, search your heart, and test your mind.