I will praise the LORD who counsels me – even at night my conscience instructs me. I keep the LORD in mind always. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:7-8 HCSB
“I had started to notice that one of my eyes was becoming extremely irritated, and I was having trouble wearing my hard contact lens. At first I assumed I was having some sort of allergic reaction, which I attempted to treat with antihistamines. But the problem persisted—becoming so bothersome that I had to remove the lens for a few days until I could get an appointment with my eye doctor.
“After examining the aggravated eye, he explained that I was not having a problem with allergies. Nor was there anything wrong with the eye itself. The problem was with my contact lens. It had somehow become misshapen and was rubbing against my eye. If I wanted to restore my vision, I needed to replace the damaged lens with a new one.
“In much the same way, a damaged view of God can affect the way we view everything around us – including the way we view ourselves. If we’ve constructed in our minds a god who is weak, impotent, and not in control of every detail in the universe, we will also see ourselves as being helpless. We’ll be overwhelmed by the storms we face.
“What we won’t see is that what is causing the irritation and turmoil within our souls is not the people or circumstances we think are annoying us. The problem is that we are looking through a damaged lens. A faulty worldview.
“That’s why it is so important that we keep our vision aligned with truth, believing who God says He is, rather than the distortions and lies we can so easily accept about Him. Having a right view of Him keeps our whole world in sharper focus.
“Ask God to show you if any of your current distresses in life are the result of attitudes and beliefs about Him that may seem to square with your experience but are not consistent with Biblical Truth.”
Adapted, The Quiet Place, Nancy Leigh DeMoss