Keeping an Eternal Perspective

Wake.  Eat.  Work.  Sleep.  Repeat.  

In the midst of our daily routines, our perspectives can get muddled.  It’s easy to get caught up in what the world has to offer -- buying the latest gadgets, staying up with the current clothing trends, moving into a bigger and better house, ditching the “old” car for a brand new one -- it goes on and on.  None of these things are bad in and of themselves -- it’s really about where our hearts are when we make these decisions.  However, I am learning to ask myself some questions before I impulsively jump into something that might not be God’s will:

"Can I take this to heaven with me?"

"Can this bring glory to God?"

"Is this a need?  Or a want?"

"Can I use this money to bless someone else instead?"

About two years ago, David and I decided we wanted to move somewhere with a little acreage.  We dreamed of sitting on a big, wraparound porch at sunset while watching the boys run around and explore.  So we contacted the realtor we used when we bought our current house.  We wanted to know what our current house was worth so we could decide if this was a good move or not.  And of course, being in the current Denver market, our home had appreciated enough that we would make a great profit by selling our home.  Unfortunately, that meant we would have to buy a home that had also appreciated and would cost a lot more per month… like double our current payment.  Yikes.

Long story short… We looked at hundreds of homes off and on for the past two years.  No joke.  We even put an offer in on one and backed out because it didn’t seem right.  Every amazing home we went into never felt right, even if it checked all our boxes.

The more we looked, the more depressed we got.  Literally depressed.

Then a few days ago, my “One Year Bible” took me to Ecclesiastes for that day’s reading.  Now I realize this book is a little different than the others in the Bible.  It is meant to be more of a look at what our lives would be WITHOUT God (meaningless).  However, God definitely spoke to me through a couple of verses.  One in particular was Ecclesiastes 6:9, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” (NLT)  

BOOM 

I don’t think our hearts were wrong in the first place of wanting to move and enjoy a little more land for the boys.  However, the more we looked, the higher our budget got, the more boxes we had to check, and I suddenly became a kitchen snob!

Ecclesiastes 5:10-11 says, “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness!  The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!” (NLT)

This is true not just of money, but of any material possession.  No matter how much we have, is it truly ever enough?  We keep trading up for better, hoping this next THING will make us happy.

David and I finally came to the conclusion that God wanted to shut the door on us looking at homes.  Once we contacted our realtor and told her we were backing off for now, we were so happy.  Giddy!  THAT felt right.  The depression was gone.  We knew we did what God wanted us to.  And we don’t feel that that the past two years were wasted, either.  We learned a lot, we got a lot of home projects completed, and we decluttered a lot.  Most of all, it taught us to be content.  When it’s time to move to a different house, God will make it really clear to us.

We can’t take our money or material possessions with us to heaven.  Why do we spend SO much time researching, shopping for, obsessing over, cleaning, and protecting these “precious treasures”?  

What can we take with us to heaven?  Nothing.  What can we SEND AHEAD to heaven?  Anything of eternal value... Telling people about Jesus.  Secretly blessing someone. Spending time with the Lord.  Raising our kids in His ways.  Putting others before ourselves.  Choosing humility.  Being Christlike.  These gain eternal rewards.  

We need to keep our lives in perspective.  Our lives are but a tiny dot on the line of eternity.  Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (NKJV)  Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (NKJV)  Let these verses encourage you… This place is NOT our home!  We are just passing through.  This life truly is short, compared to eternity.  Let’s choose wisely how we will be good stewards of all the gifts, talents, money, possessions, and people God has put in our care during our time here.

Praising God in All Circumstances

In response to Pastor Trifon’s amazing message on Psalm 34 last Wednesday, I wanted to share a very simple tool I learned as a teen in my youth group.  

Psalm 34:1 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

At all times?  Continually?  Even when there’s cancer?  Even when I'm robbed?  What about when I lose a loved one?  

Yes.  Continually.  

We can praise God no matter the circumstance, because He doesn’t change.  He is always God.  He is always good.  He is always on His throne, and He has you in the palm of His hand.  We can rest in the hope that He has a good plan for us.

As Trifon said, “We praise God because Jesus died for us!”  Our praise should not be dependent upon our current circumstances.  Our trials and tribulations are but light and momentary compared to the glory that awaits us in heaven!  It helps to keep that in perspective.

So… about this tool I was talking about.  Sometimes when I pray, I get in a rut or I find myself immediately jumping into my prayer requests, treating Jesus more like Santa than my Lord.  I was taught a simple acronym to help me remember all aspects of prayer.  This is not a “formula,” but just a tool that helps keep me focused.  There are several out there, but the one that sticks with me is ACTS:

A: Adoration - Praise God!  Describe how awesome He is.  Praise Him for the wonderful things He has done in your life.  Call Him by the many names He is known by (more on that in a bit).

C: Confession - This isn’t talking about going to a priest and listing off all your sins to get you off the hook until next time.  This is a one-on-one with God, your Father.  Be honest with God about the struggles with sin that you have.  He already knows.  Take the time to truly repent and turn from the sin you are in bondage to.  He has already forgiven you.

T: Thanksgiving - We don’t do this enough!  Thank Him for clean clothes, for your refrigerator, for the good food you eat, for running water.  Thank Him for dying on the cross for you.  Thank Him that He is ALIVE today, and that we will live with Him for eternity.  There is so much to be thankful for.

S: Supplication - This word means more than just asking for something.  It means to ask someone for something earnestly and humbly -- even begging for something.  Matthew 7:7 says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”  God is a good Father -- He wants to answer your prayers according to HIS will.  Try keeping a journal of your prayer requests and how God answers them.  It will help you branch out in prayer, and it will encourage you later as you look back at how faithful God is.

Since we are talking about praising God continually in Psalm 34, there is one more tool I want to share with you regarding the “Adoration” portion of the acronym above.  When I was a teen, our youth group was at a conference in a huge stadium filled with thousands of spiritually hungry youth.  The guy leading worship asked us to just go through the alphabet and speak out words that describe or name God.  Moments later, one teen broke the silence and boldly spoke out, “God, you are Almighty.”  Then another called out, “Lord, You are Beautiful.”  And yet another called out, “Father, you are my Creator,” and so on, until we had gone through the entire alphabet.  It was a beautiful way to get a glimpse of God’s multifaceted character.  

I often do this when I’m “stuck” in prayer and am not sure how to praise God in a current situation.  Praise is the gateway into the very throne room of God.  It truly brings us into His presence and fills us with the faith needed to boldly ask God our requests.  

Don’t forget that God is not only our Friend and Father, but He is the Lord, worthy of our praise!  

Psalm 71:8 says, “Let my mouth be filled with Your praise and with Your glory all the day.”