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DEVELOPING A RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
A. Introduction: We have begun a new series on developing the right perspective, or the correct view of
reality. This is an important topic because it’s not what you see that makes or breaks you in this. life.
It’s how you see what you see (your perspective). If you don’t have the right perspective, life’s
challenges are much more difficult to handle. We have more to say about this tonight.
1. Perspective is the power to see or think of things in their true relationship with each other. Reality
is the way things really are. A right perspective means that you see things the way they truly are.
a. We need to learn see this present life and its struggles in relation to the life to come. Everything
you face in this life is temporary—even if it lasts a lifetime. No one ceases to exist when they
die, and the greater part of our existence is in the life after this life. This life matters, but the life
to come matters more.
b. We need to see our true relationship to the Lord. You are loved and valued by God. Life’s
troubles don’t indicate greater or lesser love for you. They’re part of life in this broken world.
1. However, God is with you in the midst of the hard times, to comfort and strengthen you. He
knows your trouble will end, and right now, He’s able to use life’s challenges and cause them
to work for good. Some of the good we see in this life, the rest we’ll see in the life to come.
2. God puts off short-term blessing (ending your trouble now) for long-term eternal results (His
ultimate plan for a family). But all loss and pain is temporary, and in the life ahead there
will be recompense, reunion, and reward. Life will finally be what we all long for it to be,
2. All of us have a perspective, a view of reality, or the way we think things are. The problem is, no
matter how much we know, or how smart we are, none of us has all the facts about reality.
a. Only Almighty God sees reality as it truly is. Only He has all the facts about everything. He
sees all and knows all (past, present, and future) because He is Omniscient (all-knowing), and He
is Omnipresent (present everywhere at once). Jer 23:23-24; Ps 147:4-5; etc.
b. God reveals facts about reality to us (the way things really are), in His written Word (the Bible).
1. According to the written Word of God, this is reality: Nothing can come against you that is
bigger than God, who is with you and for you.
2. According to the Bible, this is reality: God causes everything (even the bad things in life) to
serve His purposes for you. His ultimate purpose for you is relationship with Him, and life
forever with Him as His much loved son or daughter—first in Heaven and then on earth once
it is renewed and restored to pre-sin conditions, in connection with Jesus’ second coming.
3. According to the Bible, this is reality: God is perfectly present with you right now, loving
and reigning, and upholding all things in your life by the Word of His power. He causes
everything to serve His ultimate purpose, and He will get you through until He gets you out.
B. Last week we looked at a statement that Paul the apostle made. Paul had a very difficult life once He
became a believer in Jesus. He was jailed, whipped, and beaten numerous times. He was stoned once
and shipwrecked three times. He endured the hardships of travel in the ancient world. He experienced
weakness, pain, cold, sleepless nights, hunger, and thirst. He faced the daily pressure of how all the
churches were doing. II Cor 11:23-29
1. Yet Paul was able to call all of this momentary and light because he had the right perspective. He
saw this present life in its true relation to forever. This perspective didn’t change his circumstances.
But it changed him. It gave him hope and peace in the midst of trouble.
a. Paul knew that there is more to life than just this life, and that the greater and better part of life is
ahead. This means that everything in this life is temporary and, in comparison to eternity, quite
small. Therefore, his troubles, though real and painful, did not weigh him down. He had hope.

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b. Paul wrote: II Cor 4:17-18—Our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet
they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever. We do not look at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are
temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal (ESV).
1. There are two kinds of unseen things—things we can’t see because they are imperceptible to
our physical senses (invisible), and things we can’t see because they haven’t happened yet.
A. Unseen realities include: An invisible dimension with a place called Heaven and a place
called Hell. This dimension is populated by angelic beings, some of whom serve God
and some who don’t. These beings can and do affect our lives.
B. Unseen realities include: God (who is invisible) working behind the scenes (invisibly) in
the lives of people and world events, causing it all to serve His ultimate purpose.
1. God’s purpose is to have a family He can live forever, in loving relationship, first in
the present unseen Heaven, and ultimately on this earth once He renews it, and
Heaven and earth come together. Rev 21-22
2. Right now, because of sin, this world is filled with suffering and death. But God is
able to use it to further His ultimate purpose as He gathers His family. Rom 8:28
C. Unseen realities include: The joys, restoration, reunions, and rewards that await us in
the life to come, where there will be no more loss, pain, sorrow, or death.
2. Look means more than physical sight; it has the idea of mentally consider. God’s Word tells
us in many places to focus our mind on unseen these realities. Paul wrote Col 3:2—Let
heaven fill your thoughts. Do not think only about things down here on earth (NLT).
2. Paul didn’t deny what he could see. But he knew that there is more to reality than what he could
see with his eyes. Note how Paul opened the letter where he made the statement about unseen
realities. He referenced the fact that he had almost been killed at Ephesus in Asia. II Cor 1:8
a. And right after Paul talked about unseen realities, he assured his readers that we know that if we
are killed, it’s not the end. We will go to be with the Lord, and we will receive our bodies back
again, resurrected from the grave and made immortal and incorruptible. II Cor 5:1-5
1. Then he wrote: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the
body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith not by sight (II Cor 5:6-7, NKJV).
2. To walk means to conduct one’s life. Faith is trust in things you can’t see. Paul defined
what he meant by faith: Faith is the assurance of things hope for; the conviction of things
not seen (Heb 11:1, ESV).
3. To walk by faith means you’re so persuaded of unseen realities that you order your life
according to them. To walk by faith means you have the right perspective on life.
b. Faith or trust in God comes through the Word of God, because God reveals Himself through His
written Word. The historical accounts recorded in the Bible show us what God is like and how
He works in the earth. These accounts persuaded Paul of unseen realities.
1. Paul would have known the account we mentioned last week, where Elisha the prophet and
his servant were surrounded by a Syrian army that included chariots and horses. Elisha was
not afraid because he knew that he was surrounded by unseen angelic help. II Kings 6:8-23
2. Paul would also have been familiar with Israel’s great king David, and how God helped
David in numerous challenging, and potentially life altering, circumstances. For David,
sometimes God’s help was a change in circumstances. Sometimes it was a change in David.
3. One of the themes in David’s psalms is his awareness that God was with him, and that God with him
was the help he needed in times of trouble. David encouraged himself with this unseen reality.
a. David was anointed as Israel’s next king while King Saul was still on the throne. Saul was very
jealous and pursued David for years, trying to kill him. David wrote numerous psalms in this

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period which reveal his view of reality in the midst of very real danger, trouble, and pain.
1. At one point, when David was hiding from Saul in a cave southwest of Jerusalem, he wrote:
Ps 57:1—Have mercy on me O God, have mercy! I look to you for protection. I will hide
beneath the shadow of your wings until this violent storm is past (NLT).
2. “Under God’s wings” was a picturesque way of saying “under God’s protection”. However,
all that David could see with his eyes was a cave. But he looked past what he could see to
unseen realities—God with him and for him, helping and protecting him.
b. Fear is an automatic response to danger. You can’t help it. But you can choose to focus on
unseen realities, reality as it truly is—God with you and for you, loving and reigning.
c. Note what David said about fear: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word
I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can (mere men) do to me (Ps 56:3-4, ESV).
1. David had the right perspective, and then, in the emotional rush of the moment when fear
rose up, he was able to get his focus back on unseen realities by praising God for His Word.
2. Ps 139:7-8—I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there (NLT).
3. Ps 42:5—Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil…Hope in God…
my salvation and my God (ESV). The Hebrew wording means God’s presence is salvation.
4, David was a shepherd before he was anointed king of Israel. In his most famous psalm (Psalm 23),
David referred to the Lord as his Shepherd who protected him and provided for him.
a. Ps 23:4—Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for
you are with me (ESV). The valley of the shadow of death is this life. Because of sin, this
world is infused with a curse of corruption and death. The shadow of death hangs over
everything, because we all know that everything decays, grows old, dies, and ceases to be.
b. David’s view of reality was: Because you (God) are with me, I will fear no evil. Ps 23:5—
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies (ESV).
1. The image David paints is provision in the face of danger. Summers in Israel are dry and
shepherds must move their flocks to higher elevations to find water. Shepherds looked for
flat lands (or tablelands) which they scouted out before the sheep arrived. They looked for
good pastures and clear water, as they checked for poisonous plants and potential predators.
2. David closed the psalm with: Ps 23:6—Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the
days of my life (ESV). When David looked back over his life, he could clearly see that God
had been with him even though he didn’t always see it in the midst of his troubles.
C. Essential to having a right perspective on life is understanding that there’s no such thing as a problem
free life in this world. You can do everything right and things still go wrong because that’s life in a sin
cursed earth. Also vital is knowing that you are loved and valued by God, no matter how things look.
1. Paul understood both. Paul knew that nothing in life (no hardship or loss) could stop God’s
ultimate plan for him from coming to pass. God has the same plan for us as He does for Paul.
a. In Rom 8:29-30 Paul clearly states God’s plan to make us His sons and daughters. Paul wrote
that God calls us, and when we respond, He declares us not guilty of sin and indwells us by His
Spirit. This is the beginning of a process of restoration that will fully restore us to all we were
meant to before sin damaged God’s family.
b. Then Paul wrote: What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us,
who (or what) can ever be against us? Since God did not spare even his own Son, but gave him
up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else (Rom 8:31-32, NLT)?
1. Paul knew that love was and is the motive behind God’s plan for a family: Eph 1:4-5—
Long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ (NLT).

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2. John the apostle wrote: I John 4:9—God showed how much he loved us by sending His
only son into the world so that we might have eternal through him (NLT).
c. Paul understood that if God helped us on our worst day (which was any day before we gave our
lives to Him) with our greatest need (which is salvation from our sin), why would He not help us
now with our lesser needs—and everything else is a lesser need.
1. But Paul also knew that Jesus didn’t die to make this life the highlight of our existence. He
died to restore us to our created purpose as sons and daughters of God and give us a life after
this life, by breaking the power of sin and death through His death and resurrection.
2. God will ultimately end all of life’s troubles, but not right now. Right now, He sometimes
puts off short term deliverance if doing so will produce long term eternal results (more later).
2. Paul continued: Rom 8:35-37—Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean
he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in
danger or threatened with death…No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through
Christ, who loved us (NLT).
a. The victory that Paul preached is victory over sin and death through Jesus. I Cor 15:57—How
we thank God, who gives us the victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ (NLT).
1. Rom 8:38-39—And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death
can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our
worries about tomorrow, and even the power of hell can’t keep God’s love away. Whether
we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation can separate us
from the love of God this is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (NLT).
2. Paul became convinced that nothing could stop God’s plan from coming to pass in his life.
Paul didn’t mean a happy life in this life. He meant in the ultimate life—unending life with
God his Father in world with no more loss, pain, sorrow, or death, life as we long for it to be.
b. Note this translation of Rom 8:38—For I have come through a process of persuasion to the
settled conclusion that… (nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord (Wuest).
c. Paul’s perspective didn’t just suddenly appear. He went through a process of persuasion until
he was fully convinced. This persuasion came from God’s Word.
3. Paul learned to keep his focus on unseen realities when circumstances, thoughts, and emotions said
otherwise. For example, Paul was jailed in Rome and had to appear twice before a Roman court.
a. Paul wrote: The first time I was brought before the judge, no one was with me. Everyone
abandoned me. I hope it will not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and
gave me strength, that I might preach the Good News in all its fullness for all the Gentiles to hear
(II Tim 4:16-17, NLT).
b. The second time brought a death sentence. Note Paul’s view of reality as he faced execution:
II Tim 4:18—Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely
to his heavenly Kingdom. To God be the glory forever. Amen (NLT).
4. Paul was confident about his future because he had the right perspective. He knew he was loved by
God. He knew that if he died, he’d go to be with the Lord in Heaven. He knew that, no matter
how things looked, God was furthering His plan for a family as he worked in Paul’s life. He knew
that God would get him through until He got him out. He knew that the best is yet to come.
D. Conclusion: We have more to say next week. For now, I encourage you to begin to take time to think
about these things and begin to focus your mental attention on the way things really are—not just on
what you see and feel in the moment. Tell yourself the truth: This is all temporary. God is with me
and for me. He loves me and He will get me through whatever I am facing.