Day 10 – Powerful Perspective

Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 MSG

Our most important lessons in life invariably involve some kind of pain or difficulty. It is crucial for us to have the right perspective as we deal with these painful circumstances. We can be hindered by anger, despair and bitterness, or we can be inspired by faith, hope and determination.

In the passage above, Paul experienced a powerful change of perspective – he stopped viewing his painful circumstance as a handicap and started viewing it as a gift from God. When we embrace the same godly perspective, we are able to discover our purpose. We realize that gift we’ve been given empowers us to be more like Jesus, to develop closer relationships, and to do more good in the lives of others!

What is your perspective on the pain and challenges you are currently facing? is your perspective hindering you or inspiring you?

How can you leverage your life experience to help someone else? Think of a specific person and go do something good for them!

This is a post in a series called “15 Days to Become a Force For Good,” which is a follow up to our 2017 Expo.