Yesterday my daughter and I were having a conversation about what we believed to be true, and I realized that there can often be a big difference between perspective and truth. She was telling me that there was a time in her life, as a teenager, that she was certain that she was getting a message from me concerning how I felt about a particular subject. What is interesting about this is that I really do not believe that this was the message I was trying to give to her. But, if that is what she perceived to be true, at that time, then from her perspective it was true.
For me, when I allow my perceived understanding of someone, or something, to be what drives my assumptions regarding truth, then I am at risk of believing what is a lie. I know that lie sounds rather harsh, but if something is not true, then it is a lie.
The other day I talked about love, and you will remember that I said that I am loved. That is an excellent example of what I mean. I am loved, that is what I know to be true, so that is not up for debate. If someone tried to tell me otherwise, I would not be able to come into their agreement because my life speaks otherwise.
God’s Word tells us that we are loved, so that is what I believe. I am loved by God, whether I am having a good or bad day. The opposite is also true. If you love your family, but never tell them that you do, then their perspective may be that you don’t!
You can’t always convince someone that they are believing an untruth, but you can do your best to try. It is then up to them to decide to look at what they perceived to be true, revisiting it with a fresh perspective to see the truth that was there all the time.
Actually, the only Person that we can trust His perspective to line up every time with truth is the Lord. God will always be our source of truth, and seen from His perspective we can surely trust it! Joseph is a great example in the Old Testament. Although, his situation was dire, he was able to stand during those times of tribulation knowing that God was seeing things from a very different perspective.
Genesis 50:20 CSB You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result-the survival of many people.