A clear view
Life presents many decisions that must be made. These decisions vary in level of difficulty from the very simple, such as what is eaten for breakfast, to the more serious, such as whom to marry. All of these decisions would be much easier if a clear and unobstructed view of all that pertains to the decision were available. Fortunately for the Christian, access is provided to the only truly clear view for decision making. It is God, who has the only clear view. It is God’s view that we need to acquire, for He is all-knowing, all-wise, and His love abounds toward His children.
God’s Word tells us in Psalm 147:5, “Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.” God understands all that there is to understand. God knows and understands all, for it is not possible to have infinite understanding without possessing infinite knowledge. God even knows all our thoughts and the intents of our heart. David proclaims, “O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.” Psa. 139:1-4.
How wonderful to have a God who knows all that we are, all that we will become, all the difficulties we have faced and will face, all our heart burdens and cares, and all the answers to the decisions that we face. Such infinite knowledge also leads to infinite wisdom. God not only knows all, but has infinite wisdom to apply that knowledge. Where does God’s Word tell us to go to find wisdom? “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5. Oh, the blessedness of having a Heavenly Father that possesses all knowledge and all wisdom. What joy to have such an incredible resource for decision making. Where else would we go to get a clear view for the decisions that face us?
So it is clear, God possesses the clear view we need for proper decision making. How then do we gain access to this view? To gain access to this clear view, all that blurs, interferes, and obstructs must be removed. These obstacles are sin, the world and its philosophy, and self.
Sin is the greatest obstruction of all as it severs our fellowship with God. “The soul that sinneth it shall die.” Ezekiel 18:20. Just as death is the separation of soul and body, so also death is separation from God. Before anyone can come to God as their Heavenly Father, they must first be forgiven of all their sin. They must be ‘born again.’ They must believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son, and that He became man, died for all our sin, and rose again the third day. Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3. To be born again we must repent of our sin and all our self effort to get to heaven and receive by faith God’s gift of salvation. “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” Luke 13:3. To repent is to turn around and change directions, to turn our back on self effort and our sin and face God accepting what He has provided for us, choosing to place our life in His. As we repent we must accept by faith God’s finished work on the cross. We must turn and ask Him for salvation. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Rom. 10:13.
Salvation is but the first step. The believer must grow in his/her faith. Perfection is not attained by receiving salvation, but a path is provided so that we might grow and become like Jesus. Victory over sin, however, is provided. The cross not only serves as payment for our sin but also destroys the power of sin in our lives. When Christ died on the cross, we died with him. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Rom.6:3-4.
He who has died is dead and the influences of this life no longer have any power over him. “For he that is dead is freed from sin.” Rom. 3:7. Hallelujah, we no longer need to fear the power of sin, we are freed from it for we have died. Yet we do not always acknowledge our position of freedom from sin and fall into its trap because of our flesh. But we need not fear, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9. So then the obstacle of sin can easily be removed.
The second obstacle is the world and its philosophy. James tells us that, “the friendship of the world is enmity with God.” James 4:4. Paul also tells us, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.” I Cor. 3:19. Certainly to see with God’s clear view would require full rejection of the world and its philosophy. Some might say that the world and its philosophy have no affect on them. Yet they spend hours every week in front of the television soaking up all the humanistic philosophical propaganda. We must be careful to fill our minds with the Word of God and not the world’s philosophy. We must daily renew our minds in Christ as Paul says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Rom. 12:2
Finally, the mature believer must deal with self. It is not what ‘I’ want, but what God wills that must be. Self can be a most difficult obstacle to see and remove. Self comes from our inner being, from the heart. God says of the heart, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jer. 17:9. Self must die, if a clear view is to be obtained. Jesus said to his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matt. 16:24. Self must die and a cross is what it must be placed on. This is not a once and for all event, but must be done daily. Luke renders it this way, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross DAILY, and follow me.” Luke 9:23. We must sacrifice our self life on the altar of the cross each and every day. Clearing the obstacle of self is essential to hearing the still small voice of God.
Clearing the obstacles is important but not the end of the matter. Once the obstacles are gone we must gaze upon the view provided by God. Trust must be placed in God’s view. Paul in writing to Titus in Titus 1:1-2introduces his letter by saying, “Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness; In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Wow, God cannot lie. Think about it. Whatever God tells you must be the truth, must be the best possible solution, and must be exactly the correct view. God cannot lie because it would be against His nature to do so.
If God cannot lie, then the promises of God’s Word are sure and can be trusted implicitly. We must lean upon them. One very important promise is found in Romans 8:28-30 which reads, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.” God has guaranteed that those who accept Christ as their Savior will indeed be conformed to His image. We are guaranteed to be able to see things God’s way, to see with a clear view. We must trust the Word of God and search therein for our answers.
Once we obtain that clear view, we need to daily maintain it. Four essentials will help us to maintain the clear view; daily devotions, daily prayer, daily meditation on and memorization of God’s Word, and the avoidance of the obstacles. Spend time in the morning in God’s Word for, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psa. 119:105. Spend time in the morning and throughout the day in prayer as Paul reminds in Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Spend time meditating on God’s Word and memorizing it. David says of God’s Word, “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psa. 119:11. Paul also reminds us, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if the be any praise, think on these things.” Phil. 4:8.
Finally avoid the obstacles. Having discovered what the obstacles are, do what is necessary to avoid returning them to your life. May God grant you a clear view.