Day5: Seeing Life from God’s View

 Seeing Life from God’s View

What is your life?

James 4:14b (NIV)

We don’t see things as they are, 

we see them as we are.

Anaïs Nin

The way you see your life shapes your life.

How you define life determines your destiny. Your perspective

will influence how you invest your time, spend your money, use

your talents, and value your relationships.

One of the best ways to understand other people is to ask

them, “How do you see your life?” You will discover that there are

as many different answers to that question as there are people.

I’ve been told life is a circus, a minefield, a roller coaster, a puzzle,

a symphony, a journey, and a dance. People have said, “Life is a

carousel: Sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down, and

sometimes you just go round and round” or “life is a ten-speed

bicycle with gears we never use” or “life is a game of cards: You

have to play the hand you are dealt.”

If I asked how you picture life, what image would come to your

mind? That image is your life metaphor. It’s the view of life that

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you hold, consciously or unconsciously, in your mind. It’s your

description of how life works and what you expect from it. People

often express their life metaphors through clothes, jewelry, cars,

hairstyles, bumper stickers, even tattoos.

Your unspoken life metaphor influences your life more than

you realize. It determines your expectations, your values, your

relationships, your goals, and your priorities. For instance, if you

think life is a party, your primary value in life will be having fun. If

you see life as a race, you will value speed and will probably be in a

hurry much of the time. If you view life as a marathon, you will

value endurance. If you see life as a battle or a game, winning will

be very important to you.

What is your view of life? You may be basing your life on a

faulty life metaphor. To fulfill the purposes God made you for,

you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and

replace it with the biblical metaphors of life. The Bible

says, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this

world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete

change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the

will of God.” 1

The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us

God’s view of life: Life is a test, life is a trust, and life is

a temporary assignment. These ideas are the foundation of

purpose-driven living. We will look at the first two in this chapter

and the third one in the next.

Life on earth is a Test. This life metaphor is seen in stories

throughout the Bible. God continually tests people’s character,

faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Words like trials,

temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in

the Bible. God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his son

Isaac. God tested Jacob when he had to work extra years to earn

Rachel as his wife. 

Adam and Eve failed their test in the Garden of Eden, and

David failed his tests from God on several occasions. But the

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DAY FIVE:

SEEING

LIFE

FROM

GOD’S

VIEW

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Bible also gives us many examples of people who passed a great

test, such as Joseph, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel. 

Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of

life is a test. You are always being tested. God constantly watches

your response to people, problems, success, conflict, illness,

disappointment, and even the weather! He even watches the

simplest actions such as when you

open a door for others, when you

pick up a piece of trash, or when

you’re polite toward a clerk or

waitress.

We don’t know all the tests God

will give you, but we can predict

some of them, based on the Bible.

You will be tested by major changes, delayed promises, impossible

problems, unanswered prayers, undeserved criticism, and even

senseless tragedies. In my own life I have noticed that God tests

my faith through problems, tests my hope by how I handle

possessions, and tests my love through people.

A very important test is how you act when you can’t feel God’s

presence in your life. Sometimes God intentionally draws back,

and we don’t sense his closeness. A king named Hezekiah

experienced this test. The Bible says, “God withdrew from

Hezekiah in order to test him and to see what was really in his

heart.” 2 Hezekiah had enjoyed a close fellowship with God, but at

a crucial point in his life God left him alone to test his character,

to reveal a weakness, and to prepare him for more responsibility. 

When you understand that life is a test, you realize that nothing

is insignificant in your life. Even the smallest incident has

significance for your character development. Every day is an

important day, and every second is a growth opportunity to

deepen your character, to demonstrate love, or to depend on

God. Some tests seem overwhelming, while others you don’t even

notice. But all of them have eternal implications.

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Character is both developed 

and revealed by tests, 

and all of life is a test.

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The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life,

so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace

he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, “God keeps

his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested

beyond your power to remain firm; at the time

you are put to the test, he will give you the

strength to endure it, and so provide you with

a way out.” 3

Every time you pass a test, God notices and

makes plans to reward you in eternity. James says,

“Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass

the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to

those who love him.” 4

Life on earth is a Trust. This is the second biblical metaphor

of life. Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence,

opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God

that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are

stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship

begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything

and everyone on earth. The Bible says, “The world and all that is

in it belong to the Lord; the earth and all who live on it are his.” 5

We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth.

God just loans the earth to us while we’re here. It was God’s

property before you arrived, and God will loan it to someone else

after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.

When God created Adam and Eve, he entrusted the care of his

creation to them and appointed them trustees of his property.

The Bible says, “[God] blessed them, and said, ‘Have many

children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and

bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge.’” 6

The first job God gave humans was to manage and take care of

God’s “stuff” on earth. This role has never been rescinded. It is a

part of our purpose today. Everything we enjoy is to be treated as

a trust that God has placed in our hands. The Bible says, “What do

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you have that God hasn’t given you? And if all you have is from God,

why boast as though you have accomplished something on your own?” 7

Years ago, a couple let my wife and me use their beautiful,

beach-front home in Hawaii for a vacation. It was an experience

we could never have afforded, and we enjoyed it immensely. We

were told, “Use it just like it’s yours,” so we did! We swam in the

pool, ate the food in the refrigerator, used the bath towels and

dishes, and even jumped on the beds in fun! But we knew all

along that it wasn’t really ours, so we took special care of

everything. We enjoyed the benefits of using the home without

owning it.

Our culture says, “If you don’t own it, you won’t take care of

it.” But Christians live by a higher standard: “Because God owns

it, I must take the best care of it that I can.” The Bible says,

“Those who are trusted with something valuable must show they are

worthy of that trust.” 8 Jesus often referred to life as a trust and

told many stories to illustrate this responsibility toward God. In

the story of the talents,9 a businessman entrusts his wealth to the

care of his servants while he’s away. When he returns, he evaluates

each servant’s responsibility and rewards them accordingly. The

owner says, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been

faithful with a few things; I will put

you in charge of many things. Come

and share your master’s happiness.” 10

At the end of your life on earth

you will be evaluated and rewarded

according to how well you handled

what God entrusted to you. That

means everything you do, even

simple daily chores, has eternal implications. If you treat

everything as a trust, God promises three rewards in eternity.

First, you will be given God’s affirmation: He will say, “Good

job! Well done!” Next, you will receive a promotion and be given

greater responsibility in eternity: “I will put you in charge of

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The more God gives you, 

the more responsible he 

expects you to be.

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many things.” Then you will be honored with a celebration:

“Come and share your Master’s happiness.”

Most people fail to realize that money is both a test and a trust

from God. God uses finances to teach us to trust him, and for

many people, money is the greatest test of all. God watches how

we use money to test how trustworthy we are. The Bible says, “If

you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with

the true riches of heaven?” 11

This is a very important truth. God says there is a direct

relationship between how I use my money and the quality of my

spiritual life. How I manage my money (“worldly wealth”)

determines how much God can trust me with spiritual blessings

(“true riches”). Let me ask you: Is the way you manage your

money preventing God from doing more in your life? Can you be

trusted with spiritual riches? 

Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be

demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much,

much more will be asked.” 12 Life is a test and a trust, and the more

God gives you, the more responsible he expects you to be. 

Day Five

Thinking about My Purpose

Point to Ponder: Life is a test and a trust.

Verse to Remember: “Unless you are faithful in small

matters, you won’t be faithful in large ones.”

Luke 16:10a (NLT)

Question to Consider: What has happened to me

recently that I now realize was a test from God? What

are the greatest matters God has entrusted to me?

The Purpose-Driven Life

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