Widen Your Lens of Perspective

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It's time, Your time, not just to 0:01:03.800 --> 0:01:06.199 go back to school, but to come back and move 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:11.039 forward with Purdue Global, Purdue's online university for working adults. 0:01:11.680 --> 0:01:15.160 Start your comeback at Purdueglobal dot edu. 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:19.280 Welcome to the Joe Loustine Podcast. Help us continue to 0:01:19.319 --> 0:01:22.280 share the message of hope with those all over the world. 0:01:22.720 --> 0:01:26.280 Visit joeloustin dot com slash give Hope to give a 0:01:26.319 --> 0:01:28.399 gift today. 0:01:34.240 --> 0:01:37.320 I praise you and thank you for all what you're doing. 0:01:37.760 --> 0:01:40.880 Hey man, you may be seated. I want to encourage 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:44.000 every one of us today that if you're waiting on 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.679 a prayer to be answered, or maybe you're waiting for 0:01:46.760 --> 0:01:49.160 some things to change in your life and it hasn't 0:01:49.200 --> 0:01:52.720 happened for a long time, and you're just waiting for 0:01:52.760 --> 0:01:55.520 things to change so you can move on with life. 0:01:56.040 --> 0:01:59.520 I want to encourage you to not let those things 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:04.120 stop you. Don't get stuck in those areas of your life. 0:02:04.680 --> 0:02:08.120 God doesn't want you to ever get stuck. He wants 0:02:08.160 --> 0:02:11.399 you to live with enthusiasm. He wants you to live 0:02:11.400 --> 0:02:15.560 with joy. He wants you to live with expectancy of 0:02:15.600 --> 0:02:20.320 what He can do in your life. You see, sometimes 0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:24.600 we're waiting on things to change, We're looking at everything 0:02:24.639 --> 0:02:28.440 around us, and we forget to look at our God. 0:02:29.200 --> 0:02:29.440 See. 0:02:29.480 --> 0:02:32.560 The Bible says we are to wait upon the Lord. 0:02:33.400 --> 0:02:35.880 We're not to wait for all of our prayers to 0:02:35.880 --> 0:02:39.440 be answered. We're not to wait for things to change 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:44.720 before we can be happy. We're to wait expectantly on 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:50.480 the Lord, exciting with anticipation. God, I may be in 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.760 a difficult season, but God, that doesn't stop you from 0:02:53.760 --> 0:02:57.240 working in my life, you see, with an excitement and 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.600 a joy and a passion for life. That's how God 0:03:00.639 --> 0:03:04.600 wants us to live. You know, we sometimes we think 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:10.280 that seems impossible. I can't be that happy all the time, really, Victoria. 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:14.280 The Bible says that there is a joy in you 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.400 that Jesus gave you. He says, the joy that is 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:19.160 in me I've given you. 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:19.919 You have the. 0:03:19.880 --> 0:03:25.320 Ability to tap into the resources that God has given you. 0:03:25.320 --> 0:03:28.600 You See. The Bible says that the righteous are to 0:03:28.639 --> 0:03:33.240 get brighter and brighter until the full day. We're to 0:03:33.480 --> 0:03:37.360 thrive like a green leaf. We're not supposed to wither. 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:41.240 Our dreams and hopes are not supposed to wither. But 0:03:41.320 --> 0:03:47.240 we're supposed to thrive. We're supposed to shine brighter and brighter. 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.960 You're not supposed to be dim some days and bright 0:03:51.040 --> 0:03:57.200 the others. You're supposed to be bright, shiny. You're supposed 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:01.560 to let the sun in that so in every single day, 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:06.720 so that you can be bright and shining. I think 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:10.600 that's a good question to ask ourselves periodically through the day. 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:15.120 Am I shining? How do I feel dim? Is there 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:17.960 a black cloud over me? Is there something trying to 0:04:18.000 --> 0:04:21.360 bring me down? Am I focus too much on a 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:25.240 situation or change that needs to happen in my life 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:28.680 that I'm not shining? Do I need to get my 0:04:28.839 --> 0:04:32.320 eyes off of this mountain and get my eyes on 0:04:32.400 --> 0:04:36.840 where the help can come from from the person who 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:40.320 created all the mountains, who created the universe, and who 0:04:40.680 --> 0:04:45.839 can create whatever I need. Listen where to be stars, 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:49.159 where to let the sun in? Listen to what it 0:04:49.200 --> 0:04:52.320 says in Isaiah forty three, eighteen and nineteen. And this 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:56.239 is what God spoke through the prophet, and he said, 0:04:56.279 --> 0:05:01.360 forget the former things, do not dwell on them. Behold, 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:06.920 I am doing a new thing. Now now it springs up. 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:10.719 Can you perceive it? I am making a way in 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:15.760 the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. You see, there 0:05:15.839 --> 0:05:19.000 is a question that God is asking us in his 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:22.720 promise to us, And what he is asking us is this, 0:05:23.520 --> 0:05:28.359 do you recognize what I'm doing in your life? You 0:05:28.360 --> 0:05:33.520 see it says I am doing a new thing. God 0:05:33.560 --> 0:05:36.080 didn't say I'm going to do a new thing when 0:05:36.120 --> 0:05:39.920 I get ready, when you get straight in your life. 0:05:40.480 --> 0:05:45.039 He said, I am doing a new thing. It springs 0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:50.479 up now. See. God is saying, don't have faith when 0:05:50.480 --> 0:05:53.440 the situation takes care of itself, because I'm doing some 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:59.320 new things right now, right now. But the thing is 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.400 is that we have to precede it, and in doing 0:06:02.440 --> 0:06:05.600 so sometimes we need to change our perspective. We need 0:06:05.640 --> 0:06:10.560 to widen our lens, widen our focus. You see it 0:06:10.600 --> 0:06:18.960 says behold. Some translations say look see watch. That sounds 0:06:19.000 --> 0:06:23.279 like anticipation to me, doesn't it. You watch and see 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:27.880 what the Lord will do. See it is a new thing. 0:06:28.760 --> 0:06:32.680 I'll never forget. Several years ago, I was going through 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.520 the most difficult time in my life. There was my 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:41.240 life seemed to hinge on this one major decision. To me, 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:44.919 it felt like life and death to me. It was 0:06:44.960 --> 0:06:48.119 the most difficult thing that I can remember ever going through. 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.679 I can remember what I wanted to do. I wanted 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.880 to stay home. I wanted to cry, I wanted to 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.920 waller listen. I didn't want to shine. I wanted to 0:06:58.040 --> 0:07:04.240 dim things down. One day God spoke to me and 0:07:04.320 --> 0:07:09.560 he said, you cannot live like this. He said you 0:07:10.240 --> 0:07:14.880 were made and designed to shine. And he said you 0:07:15.080 --> 0:07:21.200 need to look out beyond this problem because I've got opportunities. 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:25.120 I'm doing some new things in the middle of your mess. 0:07:25.440 --> 0:07:31.040 I am still working. Do you know that challenge in 0:07:31.040 --> 0:07:34.320 my life went on for three long years? And can 0:07:34.400 --> 0:07:40.440 I tell you they seemed like long years, But during 0:07:40.480 --> 0:07:44.720 that time I shook it off. Every day I pushed through. 0:07:45.160 --> 0:07:45.720 Was it easy? 0:07:46.000 --> 0:07:46.160 No? 0:07:46.240 --> 0:07:51.200 But I had to change my focus and change my perspective. God, 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:54.480 you don't want me to stay here. You've got new 0:07:54.560 --> 0:07:57.880 things for me. Do you know what was in those 0:07:57.880 --> 0:08:00.600 three years that I wrote my first book? I wrote 0:08:01.000 --> 0:08:04.000 a series of children's books. And at the end of 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:08.600 those three years, God vindicated me and showed me things 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:13.040 that I never knew were even inside of me. He 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:19.640 gave me victory. But it was a change of perspective. 0:08:20.320 --> 0:08:23.360 It was deciding that I wasn't gonna wear a banner 0:08:23.760 --> 0:08:27.080 of defeat. But I was gonna wear a banner of 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.840 victory over my head. See I was changing what I 0:08:30.960 --> 0:08:35.720 was thinking. See God had opportunity for me. But as 0:08:35.840 --> 0:08:39.440 long as I sat and were waiting for things to 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:42.320 change before I could get going, I would have missed 0:08:42.320 --> 0:08:46.480 out on all the new things, the new opportunities, the 0:08:46.520 --> 0:08:49.080 new things He wanted to show me and do on 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.080 the inside of me. Can you imagine if I would 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:55.000 have given in to defeat and discouragement and said so 0:08:55.280 --> 0:08:58.400 focused on what I needed to happen, I would have 0:08:58.480 --> 0:09:02.800 lost three years. Do you know? They had exponential growth 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:06.640 in my spiritual life those three years. You see, God 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.520 turned it around because I was willing to put forth 0:09:10.559 --> 0:09:13.160 the effort. I was willing to shake it off. I 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:16.240 was willing to say, no, this doesn't have to change 0:09:16.400 --> 0:09:21.000 before I can keep living. Absolutely not. I serve a great, 0:09:21.280 --> 0:09:25.160 big God, and He's got great things over the horizon 0:09:25.240 --> 0:09:31.800 for me. He is doing a new thing. It is 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:37.200 in process. The printing presses have already been turned on. 0:09:37.600 --> 0:09:42.680 It is happening now in your life. I was speaking 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.680 to a woman the other day, and I'd been praying 0:09:44.679 --> 0:09:47.080 with her for a while, and seemed like every time 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:49.360 I prayed with her or talked to her. All I 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:54.680 could see was this just rigid, stiff, just wanting something 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:57.000 to happen in her life. And what she was wanting 0:09:57.160 --> 0:10:01.600 was this her husband had left. She was wanting reconciliation 0:10:01.720 --> 0:10:04.720 in her marriage, and that is what I could see 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:08.920 was the main focus and thrust of her life. And 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.079 I told her this. I said, listen, do not make 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:18.040 plans according to this prayer being answered. Don't make plans 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:23.960 around your life according to this happening. Don't stop living. 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:27.880 You see, I believe that what she was trying to 0:10:27.960 --> 0:10:31.319 do was work it out in her own mind, figure 0:10:31.360 --> 0:10:33.240 out how it was going to happen, and as soon 0:10:33.240 --> 0:10:35.680 as he walked back in the door, then she could 0:10:35.720 --> 0:10:39.120 begin to live. Then her life could go on. But 0:10:39.200 --> 0:10:41.960 that is not what God intends for her to do, 0:10:42.559 --> 0:10:47.600 because He's got new things springing up in her mess 0:10:48.080 --> 0:10:52.040 right now. I said, you're too valuable, you got too 0:10:52.080 --> 0:10:55.400 much to offer, You got gifts, you got talents. You 0:10:55.520 --> 0:10:58.400 be the best you that you can be. You let 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:04.079 God grow, you learn, progress, take on new and exciting 0:11:04.200 --> 0:11:07.400 challenges that God's got out there for you. Be the 0:11:07.440 --> 0:11:10.240 best you can be. I didn't tell her to quit praying. 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.280 I didn't tell her to quit believing. I said, don't 0:11:13.280 --> 0:11:17.440 get stuck. Don't get stuck. You keep living, and I 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:20.880 believe that God has a word for somebody in here today. 0:11:21.360 --> 0:11:25.040 You need to keep on living. Don't make all your 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:31.200 plans around that unanswered prayer. I got new things springing 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:35.400 up even now. He didn't say there was not going 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:38.679 to be wilderness. He didn't say there wasn't going to 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:40.719 be some wasted things you look at and think, why 0:11:40.800 --> 0:11:41.520 it has happened? 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:42.199 Why me? 0:11:42.360 --> 0:11:45.199 This is a waste? What happened? He said, I can 0:11:45.800 --> 0:11:49.199 make a way in the wilderness, and I can refresh 0:11:49.280 --> 0:11:53.400 you in those times that feel wasted. I can bring 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:55.640 out of you things you never knew were in you. 0:11:56.280 --> 0:11:59.640 I can do be im possible as long as you 0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:04.720 why your lens, change your perspective, don't get narrow, and 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:08.320 don't get so focused that the strains and stresses of 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:11.720 life don't allow you to see beyond where you are. 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.840 I was reading about eyestrain and ice train is becoming 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:17.960 more and more of a common problem because of all 0:12:18.000 --> 0:12:21.760 of our screens that we look at, computers, iPads, telephones, 0:12:22.440 --> 0:12:24.920 and so. Eyestrain is when you know you can be 0:12:25.040 --> 0:12:28.320 focused on your computer and you're reading material for so 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:31.160 long that you'll get dry eye, or or you'll get 0:12:31.160 --> 0:12:34.360 a headache, or sometimes you know, you feel like it's blurry. 0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.560 That's eyestrain. And I was reading the article and it 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:42.080 was giving tips to alleviate this eyestrain. And it says, 0:12:42.120 --> 0:12:44.360 if you're in front of your computer, you're working on this, 0:12:44.600 --> 0:12:47.720 you know, really focused project. Which you should do is 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:50.120 try to get up from your the area that you're 0:12:50.160 --> 0:12:53.200 at at least three times a day, and for ten 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:56.079 minutes a day, you should look out of a window. 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.200 Maybe you need to walk outside if you don't have 0:12:58.280 --> 0:13:00.760 a wind in your office or the place you're and 0:13:00.800 --> 0:13:04.920 it said, do this. Cast your eyes at a distance 0:13:05.360 --> 0:13:08.680 as far as you can see, and take on all 0:13:08.840 --> 0:13:12.720 the life around you. It says when you do that, 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:18.439 when you cast your eyes and you begin to see light, trees, sky, clouds, 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:21.480 you're watching all this stuff around you. What it does 0:13:22.000 --> 0:13:26.360 is it relaxes the lens of your eye. With eyestrains, 0:13:26.400 --> 0:13:31.320 your lens flattens out. And what this exercise does is 0:13:31.360 --> 0:13:34.640 it causes it to be more flexible. It causes it 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:40.160 to relax. Now I'm not giving you a tip on 0:13:40.240 --> 0:13:43.000 eyestrain today, although if you have it, that might work. 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:50.520 What I am saying is that same thing parallels our life. 0:13:51.160 --> 0:13:55.000 When we begin to focus so much on an area 0:13:55.000 --> 0:13:57.439 of our life that needs to change, or something we 0:13:57.520 --> 0:13:59.920 want to happen, or something we want to pray about, 0:14:00.280 --> 0:14:04.800 we get so focused in that we struggle and we 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:09.280 bring strain upon ourself. And God is saying, we've got 0:14:09.280 --> 0:14:12.280 to get good at getting up out of that situation 0:14:12.640 --> 0:14:17.400 and casting our eyes pass the situation into the distance, 0:14:17.720 --> 0:14:20.280 so that we can widen our lens and take on 0:14:20.360 --> 0:14:22.720 the light that is out there that God gave us 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:26.600 to live. He has got more in store for you 0:14:26.960 --> 0:14:31.320 wherever you are, whatever you're going through, He's doing a 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:37.160 new thing. Can you perceive it? It is springing up? 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:39.920 But if you're not looking for it, you might not 0:14:40.120 --> 0:14:45.600 find it. Joel quoted the scripture from another passage in Isaiah, 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.200 and it says God is longing to be good to 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:53.600 those who are looking for his goodness, who are beholding 0:14:54.160 --> 0:15:00.120 the new things, watching to see with earnest expectations. Can 0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:03.200 I tell you where you are today? Is it where 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:07.280 you're going to stay? But don't waste your precious life, 0:15:07.360 --> 0:15:11.760 your precious time, when God is already put it into motion. 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.040 There are new opportunities, there are new ways of doing things. 0:15:16.200 --> 0:15:20.760 There's new growth, there's new refreshing. There are springs springing 0:15:20.880 --> 0:15:24.360 up for you to have today. Listen, You're not gonna 0:15:24.360 --> 0:15:26.720 stay where you are. It may not have happened in 0:15:26.720 --> 0:15:30.080 the past, but it always can happen. Keep your eyes 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.880 on God and watch for the new opportunities and the 0:15:33.920 --> 0:15:37.840 new things that He's bringing across your path. Amen. 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