“Your eye is a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is good, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is bad, your whole body is filled with darkness.” —Matthew 6:22–23
How often do you question if what you see and hear is the truth? This is particularly important when it comes to people who want us to trust them. Who can we believe? How can we separate fact from fiction? What is really going on? How can we know our decision-making is based on truth and not simply perception?
It starts with perspective. We all have a natural perspective that is influenced by our core convictions. These convictions have been developed by our education, experiences, and life circumstances. Perspective is the way we look at life. It is our mindset. And it affects all that we assume to be true and important.
“What we believe determines how we behave, and both determine what we become.”
– Warren Wiersbe
However, sometimes we arrive at our conclusions in the midst of an environment that is filled with scams and deception. If our perspective is wrong, we will be taking in falsehoods that we believe are true. And yet with the passing of time the future will reveal the wisdom of our reasoning. Deceptions are always eventually exposed, and the truth prevails.
If we want to experience God’s best in life then we must first make sure that our core convictions are consistent with the truth he has revealed to us in his Word.
God wants us to ground our life in his perspective because his view is not limited by anything. He sees it all. Our perspective is limited by what has been presented to us by appearances and surface issues. True perspective is only possible by believing God about what he sees and knows.
John 16:13 tells us, “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth” (NIV). We are exposed to God’s perspective when the Holy Spirit reveals truth to us:
—through God’s Word
—through prayer
—through other people
—through circumstances
—through the Holy Spirit’s prompting
Truth demands application. We must allow the truth to change us as God desires. To do so, guard against ignoring what God has revealed to you, or minimizing the importance of the truth and rationalizing a way around it.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see your life and all its circumstances from God’s perspective. When we see God’s truth, we can believe and trust his direction. We can make wise decisions, based on beliefs and values that will lead to a future built on a solid foundation.