Perspective is everything…it is so much easier to have a clear perspective of a situation when we are not all tangled up in the middle of it. I spent most of my childhood living in and around the Salt Lake valley in Northern Utah. Just driving up into the foothills of the surrounding mountains provided an amazing view of the whole valley below. There is great value in the same kind of action when trying to get clear on a challenge or situation we are facing in life….seek a higher perspective.

I once heard Joyce Meyer say that God puts people in our lives to help us in a variety of ways. Whether to lend comfort, offer guidance, bring laughter, or whatever our needs may be. However, she advises that it is not for us to pick and choose who God uses during the various moments of need, and I couldn’t agree more. Our first step in anything should be to take the problem higher and ask the Lord for whatever help or guidance He knows we need at the time.

Just as God anoints people for certain jobs or roles in life, He does the same for those He sends to provide us any kind of assistance. That is why it is so critical that we ask God to guide us to the person He has already prepared to help us most effectively in the circumstances we are facing. It’s also why we must be able to recognize God’s voice in our lives. My pastor posed an interesting question in his sermon this past Sunday… who do we trust more, ourselves or God?

When we stay focused on our anger, jealousy, or any other negative emotion, we are ignoring the commandments of God. We are allowing the adversary to maintain power over our lives. When we continue to fret and worry because we aren’t getting the resolution we believe is best, we are trusting our own worldly perspectives over the higher perspective of our Heavenly Father. We are to take everything to Him and ask for guidance and help with it all, knowing that He will give us the direction we need, but not until the time is right.

That last part is what is the hardest thing for us as human beings. Not really in trusting that the resolution will come, but in showing maturity of faith by how we choose to wait on the perfect timing of God. Our choice of impatience and a sour attitude shows a spiritual immaturity, and the choice of patience and a joyful heart shows Him we are able to trust Him enough to wait for the outcome He knows to be best.

I can say beyond a shadow of doubt that God has blessed my life more than anything I anticipated each and every time I’ve chosen trust and patience over fear and worry. Think about the times in your life when God has blessed you and come through for you when you really needed His help the most. What is it that you are facing right now in which your impatience and worry are keeping you from the peace that comes with trusting the Father in Heaven who loves you? What is stopping you from taking your impatience and worry to Him for a higher perspective? Don’t put it off…He will help us with anything we need, including the need to wait well for His plans to play out in His perfect timing.