Perception deception
I am the queen of “perception deception”. I’ve coined the phrase in case it sounds a little unfamiliar to you. I can’t tell you how many times God has taught me a lesson about my inaccurate perceptions.
To perceive – to become aware (of something) directly through the senses, to achieve understanding of, to regard or consider.
Have you ever stepped into a situation, perhaps meeting someone for the first time, and based on what you perceive you think you’ve got it all figured out, only to find out later that you were way off? God has often served me up some humble pie in these types of encounters.
Not long ago, I was sitting across from a woman who frankly looked miserable. She hadn’t said a word since the moment I sat down and judging by the look on her face I thought she must be a really grumpy person. You know how you encounter people who are “the glass half empty type”? I thought I’d met one that day. I smiled at her awkwardly and hoped the silence between us didn’t last forever. But at the same time, I was afraid of what words might break the silence we shared. Was she going to rain on my parade? Were her words going to do their best to ruin my good mood? Maybe I could just get up and remove myself so that I didn’t have to find out.
Perception…it can be a dangerous deceiver.
Moments passed and the silence broke. She actually had a very quiet demeanor and humble spirit. She was very sweet and it was obvious talking to strangers was difficult for her. I felt like such a clod. What’s wrong with me? Why am I so quick to jump to conclusions with people?
This isn’t the first time I’ve been humbled by “perception deception”.
It can happen in circumstances too. Something really great can happen and we perceive it as a windfall from God. But then, without warning it’s taken from us and we are angry and bitter. We feel as though God did us wrong. All because we perceived the situation from our own understanding. But God promises,
For the LORD God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory. The LORD will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right. Psalm 84:11
After being humbled and brought low more times than I can count, I have begun to reach past my perception of things and to ask God for discernment.
Now, I warn you, when you ask God for discernment, understand that He will require that you set your feelings and understanding aside. Actually, kick it to the curb. We live in a culture that tells us to “follow our heart”. Want to know what God says about the heart? In Jeremiah 17:9 He says the heart is deceitful (misleading). Instead, He will expect you to seek for His ears, eyes and heart in every matter. And you can expect that your encounters with people and circumstances will change dramatically. And you’ll do some changing too!
I remember a few months back, having a disagreement with a friend and having my feelings hurt. From what I could perceive she was wrong and I was clearly right. Her actions seemed insensitive and selfish. The facts seemed to speak for themselves. I was tempted to let bitterness take root and felt a wedge making it’s way between us. But I began to pray for discernment. I asked God to show me the situation from His eyes and heart. I asked Him how to come to a resolution and restore the relationship. And He did. I began to see light dawning on the areas that I could have been misunderstood by her, areas I was in the wrong, and how I needed to try to understand where she was coming from. The misunderstanding was resolved quickly and both of us were better for it. Imagine how thankful I was that I could ask God for discernment and see Him grant it. Frankly, my “perception” has often been a snag in my growth and walk with the Lord and others. And it’s also a danger to the body of Christ.
God is teaching me to seek a heart of discernment. In fact, I pray for it. Godly discernment helps me to see people and circumstances as God sees them. It keeps me from being a person I don’t want to be. And it doesn’t stop there. Discernment helps me to navigate through cultural and moral decisions too using God’s Word as my compass and anchor.
How about you? Is it possible today in your present situation that it may all be a case of “perception deception”? If you really want to know the truth of a matter, take it to God and allow Him to work.
Today, let’s seek to discern and not get caught up in “perception deception”.
For a little more on the topic on discernment, I want to share with you a passage from John MacArthur. He expresses other ways discernment enriches our lives and helps us to live in abundance.
To discern –
In its simplest definition, discernment is nothing more than the ability to decide between truth and error, right and wrong. Discernment is the process of making careful distinctions in our thinking about truth. In other words, the ability to think with discernment is synonymous with an ability to think biblically.
First Thessalonians 5:21-22 teaches that it is the responsibility of every Christian to be discerning: “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” The apostle John issues a similar warning when he says, “Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). According to the New Testament, discernment is not optional for the believer-it is required.
The key to living an uncompromising life lies in one’s ability to exercise discernment in every area of his or her life. For example, failure to distinguish between truth and error leaves the Christian subject to all manner of false teaching. False teaching then leads to an unbiblical mindset, which results in unfruitful and disobedient living-a certain recipe for compromise.
Unfortunately, discernment is an area where most Christians stumble. They exhibit little ability to measure the things they are taught against the infallible standard of God’s Word, and they unwittingly engage in all kinds of unbiblical decision-making and behavior. In short, they are not armed to take a decidedly biblical stand against the onslaught of unbiblical thinking and attitudes that face them throughout their day.
Discernment intersects the Christian life at every point. And God’s Word provides us with the needed discernment about every issue of life. According to Peter, God “has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3). You see, it is through the “true knowledge of Him,” that we have been given everything we need to live a Christian life in this fallen world. And how else do we have true knowledge of God but through the pages of His Word, the Bible? In fact, Peter goes on to say that such knowledge comes through God’s granting “to us His precious and magnificent promises” (2 Peter 1:4).
Discernment — the ability to think biblically about all areas of life — is indispensable to an uncompromising life. It is incumbent upon the Christian to seize upon the discernment that God has provided for in His precious truth! Without it, Christians are at risk of being “tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). John MacArthur – Grace To You
