The Reframe Principle

Big Idea:

Reframing according to God’s truth transforms lives.

Intro:

One of my best friends once told me, “Some of my closest friends are dead.” Um… that’s a little creepy. I’m not so sure I want to be friends anymore...

But it was his way of saying that he greatly enjoyed reading biographies and learned a lot from their lives. That by reading their story and seeing the world thru their eyes, it’s as if they became close friends. I think I get it...

Recently, I listened to the audiobook titled, “The Hiding Place.” It’s the story of Corrie Ten Boom - a Dutch Christian woman whose family hid Jews during the Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Netherlands. She’s become a hero to me… and in a way, a friend. Her life has impacted mine!

I even watched the movie on Amazon Prime and started to cry. It was like suffering with a friend. Because, eventually, they were caught and sent to a concentration camp. Some of the family died, some were released, but Corrie and her sister, Betsie, stayed imprisoned.

During their time at Ravensbruck, the sisters, together, saw and experienced horrific things. And while both were radically in love with Jesus, for a time, they held very different perspectives.

Corrie fixated on the negativity. And who could blame her? But as she did, hatred became the filter she saw the world through. On the other hand, Betsie saw it all as part of God’s plan. Not to say God approved of the evil, but in Betsie’s mind, if God is in control and has a good plan, then everything her and Corrie were experiencing had purpose.

Therefore, she began to thank God for her sufferings, including living in lice-filled barracks. While it was gross, it also kept the Nazi soldiers out (for fear of contamination). Which allowed Betsie to openly share the gospel - undisturbed - each night with her roommates. God gave her a fertile field to spread seeds of hope.

She also saw her time at the camp as a way to be more like Jesus. She’d tell Corrie they could truly be lights when they lived in truly dark place. That they could pray for the Nazi soldiers and practice forgiveness in the same way Jesus did towards His persecutors.

Her perspective, based on her gospel-based thinking radically impacted her life. And it caused Corrie to repent and change her perspective too. She began to look with the eyes of Jesus.

And when Corrie was finally released (due to a “clerical error” aka God’s intervention), she went on to share the hope of Jesus to anyone who would listen - and who wouldn’t listen to a concentration camp survivor? But more than that, but her testimony had resurrection power. Because she didn’t just survive, she came out of the fire glorifying God - with more hope, more faith, more love, and more forgiveness than she entered with. And God has used her story to impact millions, including myself.

Betsie was right. God did have a plan...

Today, in our “I Think I Can” series, we’re going to talk about The Reframe Principle - and it’s all about perspective!

The Replacement Principle identifies the lies and replaces them with God’s truth.

The Rewire Principle makes those truths our strongest thoughts.

The Reframe Principle builds on these two principles to change our perspective.

Next week, we’ll finish with the Rejoice Principle.

Let me start with a familiar Bible story...

Exegesis:

In the Old Testament, we’re introduced to a young boy named Joseph. He is the son of Jacob. The grandson of Isaac. And the great grandson of Abraham - the father of our faith.

And for our purposes, I want you to remember one phrase: That’s not his fault!

Joseph was his father’s favorite son...

Genesis 37:3–4 ESV

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Say, “That’s not his fault.”

It wasn’t Joseph’s fault his dad loved him, nor that his brothers hated him.

One day, God gave Joseph a couple of dreams about the future. They showed that one day Joseph would rule over his family. And they caused his brothers to hate him more.

But say, “That’s not his fault.”

Then, his brothers planned to kill him, but instead sold him into slavery.

Say, “That’s not his fault.”

Joseph arrived in Egypt and was sold to Potiphar, Pharoah’s captain of the guard. But God was with Joseph and gave him great favor. And Potiphar made Joseph master of his house.

The Bible also tells us that Joseph was “muy guapo” (very handsome). And Potiphar’s wife noticed!

Say, “That’s not his fault.”

And she was like, “I gotta man, but I want you.” And Joseph was like, “Nah I’m good. I can’t dishonor my master or my God!” And she’s like, “You right, I , got my guy, but I, I can’t help it, I want you.” And she tries to pounce on him but Joseph runs out of there faster than Tyreek Hill.

The wife lies by telling Potiphar Joseph tried to hurt her. He believes her and throws Joseph in prison.

Say, “That’s not his fault!”

But the Scriptures say...

Genesis 39:21 ESV

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

While Joseph was there, Pharoah (king of Egypt) throws his cupbearer and baker into the same prison. And one night they had dreams, which Joseph interprets with God’s help… one dream being that the cupbearer would be restored to his position with Pharoah. And Joseph says...

Genesis 40:14–15 ESV

Only remember me, when it is well with you, and please do me the kindness to mention me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house. For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

But...

Genesis 40:23 ESV

Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

And Joseph spends another two years in prison!

Say, “That’s not his fault!”

Then, Pharoah has troubling dreams. And no one could interpret them, until the cupbearer remembered Joseph. And so they brought Joseph to Pharoah and he interprets the dreams, telling Pharoah of the 7 years of great harvest and the 7 years of greater famine, to come. He also says...

Genesis 41:33–36 ESV

Now therefore let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine.”

And Pharoah says, “I pick you!” And by God’s power, Joseph saves the land from the famine, including the land he was originally from. You see, the famine had even reached Israel. We know this because Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt looking for food. Upon arrival, they bowed before Egypt’s ruler, not knowing it was their brother! Just as Joseph’s dream predicted!

Joseph instantly recognizes them and a series of heartfelt stories follow, but I want to skip ahead to the end. Joseph’s family (including Jacob himself) come to live in Egypt under his protection and provision. And eventually Jacob dies. Then, the brothers become fearful, thinking, “Now Joseph will get his revenge! We better beg for his forgiveness and mercy.”

And listen to Joseph’s response...

Genesis 50:20 NLT

You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

Here at the end of the story, we see a few things:

God had a good plan (even though it included difficult circumstances).

Joseph suffered a lot. And it was “Not his fault!” And no one would’ve blamed him for having a bad attitude, giving up at some point, or taking revenge.

Yet, Joseph never did. He remained positive and faithful to God. And at the end of his life, we see him completely synced with God’s perspective.

And I want to suggest a reason why…

In his story, you’ll notice three things weaved through the entire thing:

God was in control.

God was with Joseph.

Joseph believed both things, even when he didn’t understand.

And that REFRAMED HIS PERSPECTIVE ON LIFE.

In a way, Joseph’s perspective is described in Proverbs 3...

Proverbs 3:5–6 ESV

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

And the contents of this proverb are the pillars for this week’s principle...

The Reframe Principle:

Craig Groeschel, pastor of Life.Church in Oklahoma (who deserves the credit for what I’m sharing) explains the Reframe Principle by two statements:

You will always find what you’re looking for.

You can’t control what happens but you can control how you perceive it.

Many of us will easily agree with these statements, but just in case you don’t, consider the following...

First off, have you fell in love with a car hunting and then begin seeing it everywhere? What happened? Did everyone suddenly go out and buy the car to just make you jealous? No. It’s just that your mind is fixed on it. And, you always find what you’re looking for.

Secondly, a boss gives a team of two feedback on a shared project. The boss says the same thing to both. One partner replies, “That was helpful! I can see where I need to improve.” The other says, “Who are they to say that? Ugh, I hate working here.” What’s the difference? It’s perspective. It’s the filter. The filter affected the facts. The employees couldn’t control what was said to them, but they could control how they perceive it, based on their filter.

Let me throw this in there... Arthur shared this with me. In the picture, what’s bigger? The hand or the Effiel Tower? The hand, why? Because, based on perspective, we’re closer to the hand. But the truth is, the Tower is bigger. It’s just our perspective is off. Sometimes our ability to control how accurately we perceive things is directly related to our proximity.

And this is The Reframe Principle: It’s taking control of our perspective (or how we view the world) based on truth. Science calls this process “cognitive reframing.” It’s a process we find in Scripture! It’s describes Joseph’s life!

He couldn’t control what happened to him, but he could control how he framed it. And because he trusted God, he interpreted everything (even suffering) by God’s truth. And because He was close to God, he had an accurate perspective on how BIG God is!

And that changes everything...

Imagine knowing everything you experience is working together for God’s good!

Imagine believing each step is ordered by God and used as part of His plan to bring hope to the world!

Imagine waking up knowing God’s purposes awaited you. And imagine ending each day confidently saying, “This is what I was made for!”

You don’t need to imagine. This is a reality for those who practice The Reframe Principle - who reframe reality by God’s truth.

… but I have a some bad news. This isn’t easy. And it requires a willingness to suffer thru circumstances you don’t understand or like. Furthermore, science reveals we have at least two biological factors working against us...

Last week, I shared that author, Jon Acuff, believes our “brains are jerks.” In his book, “Soundtracks,” he talks about a “social rejection” experiment, by the University of Michigan, that found that our brain releases the same coping-chemicals during fake trauma as it does during real trauma. That even when we know something isn’t real, our brains release them anyways. Imagine the potential impact on our perspective! Have you ever had a dream or a pretend argument in your head with your spouse, only to be irrationally upset with them the next time you actually speak? That’s because your brain is having a hard time discerning real and fake conversations because the same trauma-coping chemicals were likely released! Sin has definitely broken us!

Additionally, there’s this very real psychological thing called “cognitive bias.” Cognitive bias, or for our purposes, confirmation bias (which is a subdivision of cognitive bias), is the fact that our brain likes to believe things it already believes. It’s bias towards those things! And ultimately, this is connected to the brokenness caused by sin too. Our sinful pride doesn’t want to change! We like to play the victim. Our sin likes to stay close to our fear (forcing us to believe those worries are bigger than God).

Considering both things, it’s incredibly hard to begin practicing “cognitive reframing” or The Reframe Principle, especially when we’ve held a perspective for a long time!

But here’s our hope: God is with us. The same way He was with Joseph. The same way He was with Paul when he declared...

Romans 7:24–25 ESV

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

And the same way He was with Betsie and Corrie Ten Boom. Additionally...

Romans 8:31 ESV

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

God is for us. And He wants to help renew our minds.

He will help us take captive the lies and replace them with truth.

He will send His Spirit to repeatedly remind us of His truth so it becomes our strongest thoughts. God’s doing that right now! You’re not here by accident.

And He will help fix our perspective.

Gospel:

But I think there’s something else that needs to be discussed... One can follow these principles and, in this life, have temporary success improving their thinking, which will improve their life. But, when they die, they’ll still end up eternally separated from God.

My friends, I’m not preaching a positive-thinking, self-help program. I’m preaching the Kingdom of God. I’m preaching THE hope of eternal life. We’re discussing how to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And the path to THAT LIFE is only found on a narrow path.

And the only way to gain access to that narrow path is embracing the perspective that Jesus is Lord. And...

1 Corinthians 12:3 ESV

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.

You’re only “in the Holy Spirit" when you repent (turn from your sins) and surrendered your heart to Jesus. Have you truly done that? Because if you haven’t, nothing else I’ve said or will say matters. That’s step 1!

Jesus gave us an easy way to evaluate if that’s happened.

Luke 6:43–45 NLT

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Jesus says a transformed life produces good fruit. And Scripture describes what that fruit looks like...

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Now… this may hurt a little, but it’s God’s truth. It’s also biblical - meaning it’s consistent to what God says to us. The Bible isn’t just a feel good book. It’s primary purpose isn’t to make you happy. It’s corrective. There’s a ton of warnings. And warnings are not inconsistent with love. In fact, loving parents warn their children.

Here’s a warning: If you’re listening to all of this, even trying all this, but it’s not working… AND… you don’t see Holy Spirit fruit in your life… Don’t be deceived. Don’t let your confirmation bias dupe you… it might be that you’ve never truly surrendered to Jesus as Lord. And you’re trying to claim God’s promises to His children, but you don’t belong to His family. I’m sorry. It doesn’t work like that.

Here’s another truth-based reality: Just because you go to church, or said a prayer, or cried at a worship song, doesn’t mean you’re saved. It doesn’t mean you belong to Jesus, are forgiven, and promised the hope of eternal life. In fact, the first parable Jesus ever taught involved four different soils being sown with the seeds of God’s word. And He said 3 out of 4 soils (which represented the hearts of certain kinds of people) were faking it. If you ain’t living for Jesus… a warning… He might not be living in you.

But here’s the good news... even if you aren’t right with God, you can change that today. The Bible says “Today is the day of salvation.” God loves you and wants you in His family. It’s why He gave His beloved Son to die for us.

Turn from your sin. Tell God your sorry. Ask for His forgiveness. Let Him know you’re ready to accept His free gift of salvation. That you believe Jesus died on the Cross and rose again. And that you’re ready to see the world with His heart and thru His eyes.

Response:

For the rest of us, let me give 3 ways to apply The Reframe Principle. Think of it this way: past, present, and future.

Past: Reframe your past by being thankful for everything you’ve gone through. Previously, your past hurt your perspective. Today, you can choose to reframe it. The fact that you’re still alive after the pain you’ve been thru means God has a future for you and wants to use that past for a good purpose. Therefore, take time to reflect on your past and thank God for being with you. Additionally, look for the the good He DID DO. We always find what we’re looking for. Thank Him for it. He allowed it for a reason.

Present: Right now, you might be going through something you don’t understand. Trust God anyways. The truth is, He is good, He is in control, and He knows what He’s doing. As a young girl, Corrie Ten Boom asked her father about something she didn’t understand. Being on a train trip to buy parts for their watch-making business, her father asked Corrie is she’d carry the bag for him when the train stopped. She tried but it was much too heavy. He replied, “I’d be a pretty poor father to make you carry it. It’s the same with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. Until you’re ready, you trust me to carry it.” That’s the way it is with God’s ways. Sometimes things happen that are much too heavy for us to understand. We must learn to simply trust our Heavenly Father to carry it. Today, many of us need to stop carry weight that doesn’t belong to us. Instead, we need to let God carry it and “Trust in Him with all our heart. And stop leaning on our own understanding!” What do you need to let go of?

Future: Create truth-based, Scriptural affirmations aimed to align your perspective with God’s perspective. Don’t just reframe your past, but pre-frame your future. Proactively plan how you will frame your world moving forward. Frame by faith. Frame by God’s truth.

Jon Acuff has a saying, “Everything is always working out of me .” It helps him remember that even though he can’t control what happens to him, he can choose how to respond. Kinda sounds like Rom 8:28.

He also says, “Oh well,” when he fails at something. He doesn’t say it because he doesn’t care or wants to give up, but to help him have a proper perspective. The sense is, “Oh well, I messed up because I’m not perfect, but I’m willing to be perfected!” Or as Paul phrased it...

Philippians 3:12–13 ESV

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

What affirmations can you speak over your life, based on God’s truth, that can help you daily pre-frame your perspective? So, that whatever you face, you’re ready to respond by faith!

Our perspective… How we see the world, changes how we live in the world. See the world like Jesus, live in the world like Jesus.

Let’s pray...

Father, help us to have Your heart and Your eyes. We confess, this is not easy. Part of us would rather say, “My will be done, not Yours!” But we know we must live like Jesus, who said, “Your will be done!” That’s because His perspective was perfectly synced with Yours! We desire that too. Help us by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus name, amen.

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