Woes Into Woahs

Woes Into Woahs

Have you ever struggled with perspective? Have you ever struggled with outlook? Have you ever struggled with positivity? I won’t say that everyone has, because I haven’t asked everyone, but I will definitely say that most of us have. One time or another… some time or another… these struggles have hit us all. Maybe it’s been about your situation, or your career, or the economy, or the government, or your family, or maybe something else entirely. The mind is a battlefield, and perspective is the battlefront. 

If I’m being brutally honest, which we all need at times, it’s really easy to take a pessimistic approach. Seeing things from a place of lack takes less work. Seeing what you don’t have is so much easier than seeing what you do. Especially in a world of social media where everyone puts their haves in full view of those who are the have nots.

A critical spirit starts in the critical mind. And everyone’s a critic. And if we’re not careful, the critic can turn into the cynic before they even know what hit them. This is why perspective is so important. 

If the devil had it his way, he would love for us to play his game of comparison. It’s comparison that leads to the critical that leads to the cynical. It’s the focus on the lack over the abundance. It’s the focus on what has or is happening to you instead of seeing it as something that has or is happening for you. 

Much of life is really all about perspective. How you view yourself often times determines how you view your situation. And if it doesn't determine it, it certainly influences it. Victim mentality is always easier than victor mentality. 

Mentality, mindset, perspective, and lenses really are all one in the same. How you see things affects how you think about things. How you think about things affects how you flip things or even what you do. And what you do affects your future and even affects who you are or who you are becoming. Proverbs says that even a child is known by what they do, and so if a child is know by what they do, how much more does that ring true for adults?

Your perspective may be the problem, but the great news is… it’s definitely the solution. Your perspective is based off your spectacles - the lenses you choose to put on.  And we all get to choose what pair of glasses we put on. Every day. Every morning. Just like His mercies are new every morning, so is the opportunity for the glasses you choose. 

And don’t get cute with me and put old lenses into new frames. The prescription is still the same (regardless of the lenses) - take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Our thoughts aren’t going to subject themselves to Christ on their own. You gotta make them. You gotta force them. 

You may not be able to change what you see but you certainly can change how you see it - how you view it. It’s not your obstacles, but your spectacles, that may be the problem… but they also may be the solution. 

If you want to, you will have plenty of opportunities to use the woe-is-me lenses. There’s no shortage of those opportunities. Especially in America, the land of opportunity. And the pessimistic mindset takes less work than the optimistic mindset. But both are persistent mindsets. 

Perspective is a powerful place, but it’s a place that you choose. It’s not the perspective that you have, it’s the perspective that you take. That makes all the difference. So be persistently looking through the correct lenses. 

Only when we truly understand the love of God and being made in His image, can we begin to turn the woe-is-me mentality into the woah-it’s-me mentality. This isn’t just about us, but also about our situations, our outlook on the world, the economy, and all the opportunities we have every day. If God is your Father (and He is), and He only wants good things for you, then everything you have either is good, or can become good when placed in His hands. 

But that doesn’t mean it’s all on Him. You have your job. You have to put on the spectacles. You have to take the thoughts captive. You have to put on the helmet of salvation to protect the mind. I bet if Paul lived in a time period that had glasses, he totally would have added it to the armor of God. Because it’s that important. 

So choose today which spectacles you will put on. Because honestly, no situation mindset is woe-is-me… all situations are woah-it’s-me. You’re the one choosing the perspective. Both positive and negative. Both optimistic and pessimistic. Both good and bad. You are choosing. 

So what choice do you have? 

No… what choice will you make?