Through the lens of God or through the lens of life?

Do you look at things through the lens of God or the lens of life? What I mean is…how do you process your decisions? How do you process your actions? How do you process your thoughts?

Let's say someone gave you too much change? Do you look at that extra money as a bonus and think ‘hey, their mistake and my gain.' Or do you look through the lens of God and find out what He says about money that does not belong to you?

Or, let's say that you are having difficulties with your spouse. Do you turn to your girlfriends, who then in turn proceed to agree with your ‘no good bum of a husband' label…or do you you look through the lens of God and find out what God says to think (and then do) as it pertains to your husband.

Now, I used to always look through the lens of life.

I would process every thought and action through:

• How I was raised.
• What my friends said to do…or not to do.
• What my gut said to do…or not to do.
• What I felt like doing…or not doing.
• What society and culture said was ok.
• What was important to me at the time.
• What my heart was feeling.

I actually never gave the processing part any thought. It was just what I did. It was what my mom did, my friends did, or others did. I gave NO thought to the processing part at all. It's in the looking back when I realized what I did.

I then went ahead and made decisions based on thoughts that I had not thought…make any sense? The whole thing was off. I had no truth to back anything up. I just did. Was it right? Wrong? Would it work? Was it a mistake? I had NO idea whatsoever.

I never realized that the whims of society change with the wind. That maybe the way I was raised was not the correct way. That what my friends said to do (or not to do) came from their own experience and perspective and did not necessarily apply to me. That my heart will try and convince me that what I am feeling is fact.

All of those lenses that I was looking through were damaged in some way. The were scratched, smudged, cracked and/or broken. Once I learned, and put into practice, what God had to say on the subject, any subject, my glasses were polished and brand new.

Why is that?

Because God's words are the plumb line of truth.

They never change. They are the same today, as they were yesterday, as they will be tomorrow. God created us. God knew what challenges we would face. He also knew what would trip us up and keep us from knowing the truth.

In fact, he sent his only son, Jesus, to live a life on Earth. The same life that we have. With all of the same challenges and inadequacies surrounding him that surround you too. Jesus faced temptations. He was given bad advice. He was mocked and ridiculed. He was forsaken. He was misunderstood. But, through the strength of his father he was able to rise above his circumstances and live a perfect life.

You and I have been given the same tools as Jesus. We have the same abilities. We are given the same strength. God is the vine and we are the branches. If we abide in Him we will never stray. John 15.

If we abide in Him our lenses will always be clear with 20/20 vision.

Seeing life through the lens of God.

So, let me ask you….are you struggling with your decisions? Do you find that they backfire on you? Do you find that your decisions are wrong more than they are right? Are your girlfriends giving you bad advice? Are you caught up in what the world says is valuable and true?

If you answered yes to any of those questions I would like to implore you to find out what God says about anything and everything…and then make your decisions through those clear and unscratched God sized lenses.

Questions about money? Questions about marriage? How about parenting? Forgiveness? Love? Anger? Joy? Peace? How about a clean house? Buying a new house? Getting a divorce?

ALL of the answers are in the Bible. Need help? Send me an email: hello@positivelyjane.net. I will see what I can do. In the meantime, go on and grab your FREE Prayer Cards. You might just need them someday.

Need some additional resources? Check out the following posts about God and Faith.

• 10 Bible Verses for Fear and Anxiety
• Nothing is Impossible With God
• Do You Feel Worthy?
• How Do You Get Into Heaven?
• Who Does God Say I Am?
• What is Worry and Where Does it Come From?
• Is Jesus Enough?