Upside Down: Changing Point of View to Beat Your Fears

Have you ever looked at the world upside down?

I remember doing that as a young child. I would hang off the side of the sofa, my head almost touching the floor, and watch the world go by.

There was something I loved about the change in perspective. It was so fascinating to see how up suddenly became down, down became up, and my family and pets suddenly seemed to be walking around on the ceiling.

Nothing had actually changed, and yet everything had changed. Because I’d changed my perspective.

It’s so easy in day-to-day life to get caught in the pattern of fear, the habit of fear. It’s so easy to be controlled by our fears, to consider worry, stress, and anxiety just a fact of our lives we can’t change.

But what if all we need is to change our perspective? We know that before we come to Christ, it’s impossible for us to see things clearly.

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. – 2 Corinthians 4:4

If we are in Christ, if we’ve been born again and He’s given us new eyes to see, we can choose to change our perspective away from how the evil one wants us to view things—with fear—and instead work to take that thing that scares us and flip it on its head.

I’m naturally terrified to speak or perform in front of people. Yes, I have classic stage fright. But God called me to public speaking anyway. I figured that meant I was supposed to confront that fear, so I’ve been working on it.

Time after time, God has unbelievably reduced my fear when I’ve needed to speak in front of a crowd. One of the keys to this victory has been taking the thing I fear and turning it on its head.

When I examine my stage fright closely, I find the reason I’m so afraid of speaking in public is because I’m afraid of how I will look or seem to others—essentially, I fear what people will think of me. I fear humiliation and embarrassment. So, at its root, my stage fright is caused by my pride.

But if I hang upside down off the proverbial sofa and look at a given public speaking engagement from the opposite point of view, I see a wildly different scenario. I don’t see a situation where my pride, my falsely-grounded sense of self-worth is in danger.

Instead, I see a unique opportunity for selfless service to others. I see a chance to make an impact for the Lord in a big way. I see a chance to change people’s lives for the better, not because of me and how great I am but because of God and how great He is. Because He chose a very unworthy vessel—prideful me—to do His work.

I think this upside down technique can defeat all kinds of fears. Let’s say you’re a parent who worries about your child’s safety. You’re afraid your child will be hurt.

If you flip your perspective, what do you see? Do you see a chance for your child to grow and experience life if you can let go? Do you see an opportunity to show your child by example what it means to fearlessly trust God? And do you see that moment for you, when you experience the joy of fully trusting God with the gift, the child, He gave you?

If you suffer from travel anxiety or worry about your finances, flipping your perspective can help with those fears, too. Forget what you see, ask God to help you flip your perspective, and then work to see the thing that frightens you with His eyes.

You’ll see in the travel an opportunity for experiences that will grow you spiritually, a chance to reach people you meet with the light of Christ, and an out-of-your-comfort-zone situation that God wants to use to make your lean on Him more than you do in your normal life.

In your finances, you’ll see your money, however much there is or isn’t, as a gift from God. You’ll remember it’s His not yours. You’ll see the additional gift of relying on Him to meet all your needs, as He promises He will. And you’ll see the privilege of using what He gives you to help others in need and spread the Gospel.

I love this technique for fighting fear, because when I flip upside down to get a new perspective on what I fear, I find that my new point of view is actually the right one.

I discover that I’m not actually upside down. I’m finally right-side up.

And this perspective is where I can see the fearless life God has for me.

Is something causing you anxiety? Is the fear reduced if you switch your perspective to right-side up (God’s view)? Please share!

Photos by Kyle Smith and Matthew Fassnacht on Unsplash