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Seeing Yourself As God Sees You
by Mercy Hope
Seeing myself from God’s perspective has always been an uphill
climb for me. Growing up, it was an issue that my mom had to
work to stay on top of. Whether I was displaying arrogance or
insecurity the response was the same, “Mercy, you need to see
yourself as God sees you!” It is a quest that I still have to
conscientiously work at to keep a proper perspective. The enemy
of our souls works overtime to blind us to the truth, but as the
Scripture promises in Proverbs 4:18, “The path of the just is as
the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect
day.” Therefore, I continue to seek to see myself, and the world
around me, through the eyes of my Father in Heaven, and to help
others do the same.
Not long ago I sat in a booth talking with a woman who just
could not believe that God really loved her personally. She
viewed God’s estimation of her through the eyes of her dad and
couldn’t fathom that God cared about what she was going through.
After about a half hour of dialog and prayer she said, “I know
that you love me.” I explained that it was Jesus’ love that she
felt flowing through me, because I barely knew her, but Jesus
loved her so much, and was so concerned about what she was going
through, that He sent me to talk with her. Through her tears she
finally began to accept that maybe it was true that Jesus did
see her as valuable and care about what was going on in her
life.
It’s Not About SELF
Let me clarify early on in this article that this is not
self-esteem class. James 4:10 shows us the true key to attaining
true status and significance is actually through humility,
“Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift
you up.”
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If we are wearing the label of
“Christ follower” but running around acting like
it’s all about us, of course we’re going to have
identity crisis!
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My goal here is not to make you feel good about yourSELF. In light of Scripture that philosophy is shallow and
powerless. As Jesus said in John 6:63a, “It is the spirit that
quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing.” In John 15:5 Jesus
declares, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth
in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without Me ye can do nothing.” Our need is to know who we are,
(or who we can be) in Christ. For it is in HIM that we live, and
move, and have our being (Acts 17:28). It is through Christ that
we have the strength to do all things (Philippians 4:13).
Where Do You Get Your Identity?
A myriad of problems in our lives stem from the fact that we
draw our identity from the wrong source. We don’t know who we
are so we work feverishly to “make a name for ourselves” so that
we can “be somebody.” The problem is, as long as we are out
there representing ourselves, instead of representing the One
Who commissioned us to do the work, we will never find rest or
fulfillment. If we are wearing the label of “Christ follower”
but running around acting like it’s all about us, of course
we’re going to have identity crisis!
If your identity is in being a stay-at-home mom, what happens
when the children grow up and move across the country? If your
identity is wrapped up in your husband, what happens if tomorrow
he is killed in an accident and you are no longer “Mrs. John
Smith”? If it’s in being the most popular girl among your peer
group, what will you do when a new girl comes to town and,
overnight, you find yourself being overlooked? If you find your
identity in your position on the corporate ladder, what happens
when you are downsized? You see, all these things are temporal
and fickle.
One of my favorite singers once lost her voice right before a
concert. The crowd had already assembled expecting the music to
start and this incredible voice to surge through the speakers at
any moment. Instead, all she could do was quietly walk out onto
the stage, sit down and in a whisper share a message with the
people that the LORD put on her heart. Had she seen herself as
merely a pretty face with a big voice that evening would have
been a disaster, but because she understood that the most
important thing was not wowing the audience with her vocal
ability but being the LORD’s mouthpiece to bring the message
that He wanted delivered in the way He wanted it delivered, the
evening was still a success. Again, Christ in us is our hope
(assurance) of glory.
We can’t find our identity in what we do. The only way we can
walk securely through this life is to have our identity firmly
established in who we are in Christ. We are a holy nation, a
royal priesthood, children of the King.
There are children who adore their dads and love to point to
them when they’re in a crowd and say, “That’s my dad!” It gives
them a sense of security to know that in a sea of people there
is someone who is big and strong who has his eyes on them. We
should be the same way with our Father in Heaven. We should be
able to stand tall even in the face of scoffers and say, “That’s
my Father. Yeah, no kidding! In His great love and mercy He
adopted a little beggar like me as His very own. Now, I’m a
child of the King and I am complete in Him.”
The Fear of People is a Snare
If I don’t keep my eyes on Jesus my tendency is to think about
how others view me. This is a BAD idea. In Galatians 1:10 the
Apostle Paul makes a strong statement. He says, “For do I now
persuade men, or God? Or, do I seek to please men? For if I yet
pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” See the
world demands “hip” while Christ’s call is for “Holy.” The world
shouts, “Go ahead and do what feels good” while Christ clearly
states, “Take up your cross, and follow Me.” When we don’t go
along with the crowd they may view us as idiots, but the
question is, “Who are we trying to please?” Whose eyes do we
want to see glisten with approval?
Proverbs 29:25 says that the fear of man brings a snare. What
does a snare do? It holds us back and keeps us tied down. Do you
know how it feels to be hindered by fear and insecurity? It can
be paralyzing. Believe me, apart from Christ I would be the diva
of insecurity. In fact, just being around confident people could
make me feel inferior and insecure.
As I look back at the many opportunities I almost missed because
of my feelings of inferiority and fear of rejection I see how
those things are sly ploys of the devil to kill (faith), steal
(opportunities), and destroy (advancement). It’s a problem we
have to identify and a battle that we must actively fight.
A Skewed Vision Keeps Us from Reaching Out
Just this morning I walked past a woman on the sidewalk who was
crying and I had three options: I could look at her through the
lenses of a self-inflated worldview which would say, “Pull
yourself together, I’m too busy to get involved.” I could get
self-conscious and think about what she and those walking past
might think of me if I stopped and tried to help her. Or I could
see her need, recognize that but for the grace of God that would
be me, get my eyes off myself and get involved. With the help of
the Holy Spirit I was moved to come out of myself and help.
As I was driving her to a friend’s house she told me, “I just
need not to be alone right now.” Before she left the car I took
another step of faith and asked her if I could pray for her, she
said, “Yes. Please.” I took another risk of appearing
“fanatical” and laid hands on her and prayed boldly in Jesus’
Name. She began to weep loudly and cry out, “Jesus. Jesus.
Jesus! The pain. Please take the pain!” If I hadn’t been willing
to come out of myself and get involved she likely would’ve ended
up doing something really foolish because she was so desperate.
I was very sobered by the realization that either
self-importance or insecurity would have kept me from reaching
out to her.
Another issue that will keep us from reaching out is feelings of
inadequacy. Defeatist thoughts like, “I wouldn’t know what to
say,” “I don’t know how to help,” “I would just complicate
things” are all lies that the enemy will whisper in your ear to
keep you from your full potential.
The best plan of attack for these lies is to say, “You know
what? That’s right. I can’t do it. In the flesh I would just
mess things up, BUT I can do all things through Christ who gives
me strength!” Then step out in faith and obey the prompting of
the Holy Spirit!
What Are Friends For?
We all have times where we need someone to come along and
encourage us: someone who can speak faith into our situation and
lift our head up ... someone who can remind us of the promises
of God and say, “You can do it!” ... someone who can gently push
and prod us when we would rather stay in a protective shell ...
someone who loves us enough to straighten out our thinking when
we aren’t seeing things right—and we should stand ready to do
the same for them.
The Scripture says that our words hold the power of life or
death. In my life I have been both catapulted into destiny by
words of faith and encouragement and emotionally paralyzed by
words of defeatism and discouragement....
(This article does not appear in it's
entirety. To read the full article, you can order the back issue
of an An Encouraging Word Issue #49. Write to An Encouraging Word, P.O. Box 374 Covert,
MI 49043)
About the author: Mercy Hope is a twenty three-year-old homeschooled graduate
who loves the LORD and the life He gives. Mercy works full time
as Itinerary Coordinator at Wisdom’s Gate as well as assisting
with various aspects of the ministry.
This article was published in
An Encouraging Word issue #49, and may not be reprinted or
distributed in any form without express written consent from the
publisher. All Rights Reserved.
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