Perception is the ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses, a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something, an intuitive understanding and insight.
Understanding of this world and very limited at that.
Compared to divine understanding, human perception is miniscule. And so, we need to rely on wisdom and discernment. And pray for God to show us what is beyond our perception of outward appearances, let alone inward. But we do get moments.
Epiphany as perception of something essential
Have you ever experienced a deep “ah-ha?” More than a “now I get it” moment, but a manifestation or perception of something essential. As when I let go of my need for success as a writer, and then it happened.
My life changed—not my will but His; the focus of my life on Him; my work offered as witness.
Identity based on others’ perception
In Jamie Ivey’s If You Only Knew: My Unlikely, Unavoidable Story of Becoming Free, she writes, “We must stop creating our own identity based on our past or other people’s perceptions, and start walking out the identity that Christ has given us.”
Ivey’s story was not so different from ours. Read this gem: “When seen through the eyes of the gospel, our stories are not obstacles to our freedom; they are actually the key to unlocking it.”
Stories about blocks removed, walls tumbling down, the truth unlocked. Living water. If we only could grasp that perception as our own, our identity.
Perception and false perception
I just finished reading Kate Boyd’s wonderfully wise book, An Untidy Faith: Journeying Back to the Joy of Following Jesus. In it she writes, “Whether we do it purposely or not, each of us ends up making God in our own image. We are shaped by more than the Bible. The technology we have, the sheer volume (and content) of the messages we see every day, and the communities in which we live all shape our perceptions of the world around us.”
Very limited and mostly false perceptions we are bombarded with constantly.
And so, today, I pray Hebrews 11:1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Faith. Without the ability for perception or understanding. Embracing mystery.
Linkup with Five Minute Friday
Thank you for sharing the Jamie Ivey quotes. It reminds me of the song “My Story.” ”
Oh to tell you my story, is to tell of Him.” I hope you have a wonderful day.
Thank you for reading and commenting, Jolene! God bless you. -C.D.
Amen. Blessings Carole for sharing this enlightening perspective. When we step back and allow God to lead, we find that our journey fills with His understanding and wisdom. God’s peace.
So good to hear from you, Richard! Indeed, we often work, doing all the right activity, but the fruit doesn’t seem to come. And so we wait and wait for the missing piece, which is precisely the waiting. Then, in God’s time, comes the breakthrough. God’s peace. -C.D.