LACED WITH GRACE...change your perspective!

Today I shared the following devotion with the readers of LACED WITH GRACE. Please take time to check this devotional site out. I am honored to be a regular contributor to this sight along with many other gifted Christian writers.  www.lacedwithgrace.com

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“This trial that I find myself in seems so difficult, it is so frustrating at times. Dear Lord,  surely, it is about to be over.”

I wonder how many of you have been in this place? Just this past week, I was spending time with God and asking Him to show me the purpose of my current difficulty. Now listen to me! I DID NOT ask for Him to take it away, but instead, asked if He would at least open my eyes to the what purpose it served.

I think that this is a legitimate question to ask.  A lot of Christians tend to be afraid of asking God why, we often think that asking such a question indicates a lack of faith or an admission that we do not want to endure such a struggle. We certainly would not want others to see or hear us questioning God, after all, what would they think of us and our Christianity?

Why do we get so confused, frustrated and even disillusioned or deceived during hard times? If we do not know WHY things are happening or worse yet, if we cannot figure out WHAT we can do about it, we fall apart.  Yet, in the Psalms, we see David went through so much and yet he still trusted and obeyed, more than most of us could ever do. David asks God the hard questions. However, he did not stop there, David knew God intimately and he trusted him wholeheartedly, EVEN, in times of severe trials!

Do you have a problem you are facing today? Look at your problem thru the eyes of God! He does not see our trouble like we do…

We see stress, He sees opportunity!
We see crisis, He sees growth!
We see failure, He sees potential!

I do not know what purpose your difficulty has but today I was able to see my own hardship thru the eyes of God. While my cloud of darkness seemed to stick around, and I didn’t understand why, God sent someone along my path that also had a dark cloud, perhaps darker than my own. It was in this moment that I recognized the opportunity to minister to someone in a way that I may not have been able to before enduring my difficulty.

 ”God is our Redemption, so because of what He did, we can draw our strength from Him and rest in His protection. Remember He always helps in times of trouble, if you do not see it, then you are not looking. (Ps. 46:2)

You see, difficulties are not punishments. They are opportunities. It is a growing time. And it is a breeding ground for potential. It’s really all in how you look at it. Changing your situation may ease the pain, but changing your perspective will change everything!