July 21, 2026 – Perspective
JC – “Rest in My Presence when you need refreshment. Resting is not necessarily idleness, as people often perceive it. When you relax in My company, you are demonstrating trust in Me…. Many people turn away from Me when they are exhausted. They associate Me with duty and diligence, so they try to hide from My Presence when they need a break from work…. As I spoke through My prophet Isaiah: In returning to Me and resting in Me you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength.” Proverbs 3:5 and Isaiah 30:15.
Days – Look from the place where thou art (Gen. xiii. 14). Simpson also encourages us to trust God, “Let us now see the blessedness of faith. Our own littleness and nothingness sometimes becomes bondage. We are so small in our own eyes we dare not claim God’s mighty promises. We say: ‘If I could be sure I was in God’s way I could trust.’ This is all wrong. Self-consciousness is a great barrier to faith. Get your eyes on Him and Him alone; not on your faith, but on the Author of your faith; not a half look, but a steadfast, prolonged look, with a true heart and fixedness of purpose, that knows no faltering,… When you get afraid you are almost sure to fail…. Get your eyes off yourself, off surrounding circumstances, off means, off gifts, to the Great Giver.”
Prevail #202 – Obadiah 12 – You should not have spoken arrogantly in that terrible time of trouble. Larson tells about two Christian authors, on opposite sides politically, who ended up yelling at each other, very publicly, at a conference and points out how opinions and anger can rob us of the peace we can have from resting in God. “We live in a polarized culture politically, radically, economically, and denominationally…. it matters that we steward our perspective. It matters how we speak to and about those who vote, look, or think differently from us. There’s no place in our hearts for arrogance, reactive rage, or selective love…. A good test of our hearts is to note how we react to political outcomes or the latest, hottest news report. Are we able to remember that God is on the throne and the He draws nearest to His humble servants? Or will we be ruled by fear and lash out? Will we gloat when the other guy loses? Our world desperately needs more saints who hold a godly perspective.”
Max – Galatians 4:7 – So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Max tells about a time when he was overly burdened by concerns and commitments as well as being sick and was ruminating over it all to his wife: “After several minutes Denalyn interrupted me with a question. ‘Is God in this anywhere?’ (I hate it when she does that.) What had happened to me? I wasn’t turning to God. I’d limited my world to my own strength, wisdom, and power. No wonder I was in a tailspin. For such moments God gives this promise: ‘We are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ’ (Romans 8:17). Strength is on the way….”
Streams – Cowman tells about three levels of faith as she draws from Judges 6:39 and the story of Gideon requiring proof that he could see and feel before he would believe God. “We have taken a great step toward maturity when we trust God without relying on our feelings. It is more of a blessing when we believe without experiencing any emotion. While the first level of faith believes when our emotions are favorable, the second believes when all feelings are absent. And the third level transcends the other two, for it is faith that believes God and His Word when circumstances, emotions, appearances, people, and human reason all seem to urge something to the contrary….”
Utmost – Matthew 5:3 – Blessed are the poor in spirit. Chambers makes the point about faith in this way, “Beware of placing Our Lord as a Teacher first…. I must know Jesus Christ as Saviour before His teaching has any meaning for me other than that of an ideal which leads to despair. But when I am born again of the Spirit of God, I know that Jesus Christ did not come to teach only: He came to make me what He teaches I should be. As long as we have a self-righteous, conceited notion that we can carry out Our Lord’s teaching, God will allow us to go on until we break our ignorance over some obstacle, then we are willing to come to Him as paupers and receive from Him…. The bedrock in Jesus Christ’s kingdom is poverty, not possession; not decisions for Jesus Christ, but a sense of absolute futility – ‘I cannot begin to do it.’ Then Jesus says – ‘Blessed are you’…. The knowledge of our own poverty brings us on to the moral frontier where Jesus Christ works.”
Power – Joyce uses 1 Corinthians 2:11 to remind us that, “The Holy Spirit dwells in us, and He knows the mind of God. The Holy Spirit is our Teacher, and one of His purposes is to reveal to us God’s wisdom and revelation…. The mind should not be filled with reasoning, worry, anxiety, fear, and the like. It should be calm, quiet, and serene. The ways of the Holy Spirit are gentle; most of the time He speaks to us in a ‘still, small voice’ (1 Kings 19:12 KJV). So it is vital that we learn to keep ourselves in a condition conducive to hearing God’s divine revelation.”
New – My page marker is on a new section entitled, “His Revelation” and Slawson shares her thoughts based on Luke 11:36 writing, “Eyes are like lamps. They illuminate the world before us. The condition of our eyes determines our perspective or view of the people and circumstances around us…. Jesus tells us to look wide-eyed and in wonder, that is, to look long, to gaze, to stare, think, notice, reflect on, and pay attention to the world around us, finding beauty and meaning in everything. And He cautions against a squinty-eyed life…. Greed and distrust shut out light. Think of a cellar. When light is shut out, mold, rot, and ruin are rampant. Greed and distrust are the warning signs. When they surface in our lives, we need to confess them and ask for help.
JA – “THOSE WHO LOOK TO ME ARE RADIANT. I am the Sun that shines on continually, even when your circumstances are difficult and the way ahead looks dark. Because you know Me as Savior, you have a source of Light that overcomes the darkness. I designed you to reflect My Glory, and you do so by looking to Me – turning your face toward the Light. Take time to be still in My Presence…. time spent with Me helps you to be a light in the world – radiating My Love to those around you.” See Psalm 34:5, 2 Corinthians 3:18, and Matthew 5:16.
JL – “My living Lord, Help me not to be so hard on myself! I know that You can bring good out of everything – even my mistakes. My finite mind tends to look backwards, longing to undo decisions I have come to regret. This is such a waste of time and energy, leading only to frustration! Instead of floundering in the past, I want to release my mistakes to You. As I look to You in trust, I’m confident that Your infinite creativity can weave my good choices and my bad ones into a lovely design…. My failures can actually be a source of blessing – humbling me and giving me empathy for other people in their weaknesses. Also, failure vividly highlights my dependence on You…. In Your marvelous Name, Jesus, Amen.” See Romans 8:28, Proverbs 3:5 and 11:2, and Micah 7:7.
