Growing Through Challenge - Wisdom And Destiny

                                         WISDOM

One of the definitions I've found especially meaningful for the concept of wisdom is: "Seeing life and its circumstances more from my Creator's point of view."

                                  CONTEMPLATION

Gaining more of the vastly enhanced perspective of our Creator is not something that comes easily or naturally in our fast-paced, action-oriented world. Think about it... your own life might likely be so consumed with activity that serious time for reflective contemplation is crowded out.

Unless you make the time, "extra" time will not be found for contemplation!

So let's take a few minutes right now to reflect a little on the various areas of life where a larger, more expansive perspective might really bring you some practical help. Let's start with some of our important relationships.

                                         FAMILY

What is this terrible tendency we humans seem to have of taking for granted those who mean the most to us? We need to keep reminding ourselves, "If I fail with my spouse or with my children (or whomever is closest to me), what does it matter who else I may impress?" From God's perspective, no one else is more important!

Lay aside past failures... none of us is perfect and we have all missed the mark here many times. But the future can be different! If you have drifted far it may take months or even years to rebuild the bridges and regain the ground... but it can be done. Start today! Your Heavenly Father is waiting to help you in this all-important area.

                                        FRIENDS

Do you treat your friends in ways that show you treasure them? Haven't you noticed that maintaining true friendships is sometimes hard and demanding? It requires a large investment of time and energy... sometimes more than we would like to give. It means not only sharing the good and fun times, but also being present to support each other during life's difficulties, trials and sorrows.

While most of us have many "friends" on the "acquaintance" level, surveys suggest that most of us only have one or two really "close friends"... friends with whom we feel free to share anything. A larger perspective would remind us that such friendships are priceless! Be sure to cultivate, maintain and treasure each one.

                                      STRANGERS

Our busy lives often lead us to rush right past people we don't even know without even taking a moment to acknowledge their humanity. God's perspective would lead us to respond differently to these fellow-pilgrims on this eternal journey.

What if you could really see inside the life of the stranger who will cross your path today? What few joys have helped shape their smile? What deep hurts and losses are reflected in the lines and strain upon their face... heard in their voice... detected in their posture?

Yes, there are many stories here... most you will never know. But, be assured that our Heavenly Father does see and does know it all. And... He might just be looking for a human instrument to bring a little of His sunshine into that stranger's life today. Might you be His instrument?

It may only take a smile, a word, a small deed of kindness. The reward? You just might experience that exquisite inner joy that only comes from helping another human being... expecting absolutely nothing in return!

                                DIFFICULT PEOPLE

We all have them. They come in the form of a relative, a neighbor, a boss, a co-worker, maybe just a stranger with whom we have to deal.

God's perspective might help us take a different approach in our thinking about these difficult people. Might you view that person differently if you somehow had a magic mirror through which you could see all the disappointing factors that have, over the years piled up to contribute to the making of this troublesome personality?

If you could know the disappointments, tears, maybe even abuse during that person's childhood... if you could see the inner struggles and frustrations of their teenage years... if you could see the storms of family or personal conflict that might be raging within them this very day...

Yes, if you truly understood them, who knows how differently this larger perspective might help to change the way you see and respond to the "difficult" people in your life?

                                 CIRCUMSTANCES

You may look with envy on the lives of other people but the truth is, all of us have our own set of "circumstances" with which we have to deal. A larger, more expansive point of view would remind you to not get too caught up in "what is happening" for that is only the backdrop. The real story of any moment is what you are BECOMING, through and because of it.

                           ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE

Wisdom involves seeking to gain more of God's eternal perspective of who and what we are becoming. That entails seeking to look past our daily circumstances to events from a deeper and larger part of some grand eternal plan to help become more than we presently are... more like our Father in Heaven... the God who "created us in His image."

                                        DESTINY

This is the eternal adventure that is our destiny... a limitless, never-ending destiny in the ever-widening, exhilarating service of our God in His infinitely grand universe!
The thrill of that kind of future should bring more anticipation and excitement to each and every day of our lives.

This kind of perspective will work wonders in helping you with the difficult daily circumstances we all face. An eternal perspective of what you are becoming will greatly assist you in overlooking the trivial and petty. This will free you to live by faith, to believe in a glorious final outworking of all life's temporary problems by a loving Almighty God and Father.

                             ONLY THE BEGINNING

Seek to cultivate the habit of viewing this earthly experience as only the beginning of an awesome eternal adventure! Our Creator and Heavenly Father has an eternity and limitless universe waiting for us to explore and serve in.

Our present task is to continue the sincere quest to grow in character, knowledge, wisdom and service... to be more ready to recognize the splendors that await us daily even now! What grandeur of eternal purpose we have inherited! What a totally fulfilling destiny lies before us!

                               QUOTES TO PONDER

"We are focusing our vision not on what can be seen, but on what cannot be seen, because the things which can be seen are only temporary; but the things which cannot be seen are eternal." ___ 2 Corinthians 4:8

"We learn as much from sorrow as from joy, as much from illness as from health, from handicap as from advantage... indeed perhaps more!" ___Pearl S. Buck

"True character is developed not in the absence of problems, but in our response to them." ___Ronald L. Reynolds

"What happens is not important... it's what you do about what happens that makes the difference." ___James Rohn

"Opportunity rarely looks like an opportunity. Often opportunity arrives incognito, disguised as misfortune, defeat, and rejection." ___Denis Waitley

"Spirituality calls for depth in a world given over almost entirely to the superficial. It offers a set of attitudes to a world that has been seduced by gimmicks and quick fixes." ___Joan D. Chittister

"If we hope to move beyond the superficialities of our culture, we must be willing to step down into the recreating silences, into the world of contemplation." ___Richard J. Foster

"Think about life as if you were on your deathbed. People on their deathbeds look back on life with a special perspective." ___Don Baker

"So, contemplation takes time, discipline, also depth. In contemplation we stretch our understanding so that our hearts can come to peace." ___Joan D. Chittister