Wisdom for Winning in LifeSample

Perspective is Everything!

In February 2019, NBA player Harrison Barnes was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Sacramento Kings—during a game! When trades like this happen, it’s common for players to bolt from the arena. But Barnes chose to remain on the bench with his teammates.

“He’s a better man than me, for sure,” Dirk Nowitzki told ESPN. “Everybody else would have bounced. He’s just a generally good dude.”

Barnes later posted a message on social media thanking the fans of Dallas that included this Scripture from Isaiah 43:19: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

This verse was spoken to the Israelites, giving them courage and hope at a time when they were facing change and great hardship.

It’s been said that your quality of life is 10 percent of what happens to you and 90 percent of how you respond. When you view your circumstances from God’s perspective you gain the spiritual insight necessary, not only to maintain your sanity, but to respond with grace and wisdom—bringing honor to God for the whole world to see!

Jerry L. Birch, NBA Chaplain

When have you felt betrayed, rejected, or disappointed by the decisions of others? How does firmly trusting in God as you face challenges affect your perspective?

God, help me to trust You even when I face the changes and challenges that life brings.