Changing Points of View

In trying to understand how good people can

make bad decisions, researchers tell us that any

of us can have ethical blindness. People

construct their own reality by framing what

they see and screening out what they don’t see.

Frames themselves are hard to see. We don’t

realize we have just constructed our own

reality based upon what we choose to put in

our frame of reference and what we don’t

consider. We don’t realize there are many

different frames, or ways of understanding and

making sense out of circumstances.

Have you ever recounted an event with the

people who were present, only to discover

there are as many different versions of the

event as there are people? We each have our

own frame. We also have group frames. Each

giving an invisible group perspective.

We don’t see anything as we ought until we see

it from God’s point of view. Be very careful

what conclusions we make in our effort to

understand the meaning of circumstances.

We’re taking this important admonition with us

to our scripture study this week, by getting

inside David’s changing point of view. There

are many psalms that begin with David telling

God how he was thinking and feeling and by

the end of the psalm, God rearranged David by

giving David a new point of view, God’s.

Psalm 38 is a good example. “Lord, my

longings are sitting in plain sight, my groans an

old story to you. My heart’s about to break; I’m

a burned-out case.” David gives some specific

circumstance that have caused him to feel this

way, then declares “But I’m deaf and mute to it

all, ears shut, mouth shut.” He decided to quit

listening to and expressing his own

evaluations. Instead, David declares: “What I

do, GOD, is wait for you, wait for my Lord, my

God—you will answer!” (God will show David

a new way of understanding what he is

experiencing)

David discovered a method for changing his

frame of reference to God’s. Psalm 86 adds an

important instructional detail. While David

waited on God to change his frame, he

reminded himself what he knew for sure about

God: “You’re well-known as good and

forgiving, bighearted to all who ask for help.

You’ve always been great toward me—what

love! You snatched me from the brink of

disaster! But you, O God, are both tender and

kind, not easily angered, immense in love, and

you never, never quit.” David focused on his

relationship with God, and who God is.

Ephesians 1 confirms the process of change

occurs when we quit trusting our own

understanding and start allowing God’s

perspective to become established within us.

“Once you heard the truth and believed it, you

found yourselves home free—signed, sealed,

and delivered by the Holy Spirit.”

Paul asked God for this transformational key:

“I ask Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make

you intelligent and discerning in knowing him

personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that

you can see exactly what it is he is calling you

to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way

of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter

extravagance of his work in us who trust him—

endless energy, boundless strength!” Just

witness our personal transformation as we

really believe and hold on to the reality of His

extravagant work in us, resulting in boundless

energy and strength.

The point made so far is that the starting point

of change is distrusting our own frame of

reference, point of view, or understanding.

Before we know what will replace our

understanding, we just keep reminding

ourselves who God is. As we continue to

steadfastly focus on who He is, we become

able to start seeing like God sees and a road

map through whatever circumstances we

encounter emerges.

Psalm 62 succinctly says it this way: “God, the

one and only— I’ll wait as long as he says.

Everything I need comes from him, so why

not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing

room for my soul, an impregnable castle: I’m

set for life. My help and glory are in God —

granite-strength and safe-harbor-God—so trust

him absolutely, people; lay your lives on the

line for him. God is a safe place to be.”