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.” 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 6:63, “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. Because 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. That’s why it’s vital to have “faith people” in your life who can spur you on and counteract those who would tear you down. I know people who have literally dedicated their lives to helping others live up to their potential through motivational speaking and one-on-one “training.” While that may not be our official occupation, we should always be heads-up for opportunities to rally around those in our sphere of influence and help them see who they are in Christ and who He can help them to become. As we are instructed in 1 Thessalonians 5:14 to “encourage those who are timid.” It makes a huge difference in another’s life to have someone elevate their vision.
I was reminded of this just recently as I was getting ready to head out of town for a large industry convention where I had several interviews scheduled. I was excited about the opportunity, but I started to feel a little unsettled about one particular interview because I had read several statements that this woman had made about “conservative Christians.” I was sure that, because of her premise, she would give me one look over and I would be instantly stereotyped and written off without having a chance to get to her heart.
My mom, who manages to remain unmoved by the opinions of others, listened to my hypothesis and then brought perspective. She looked at me with those mother eyes that say, “When will you ever get it?” and said, “Mercy, you just need to go and be yourself and you’ll be fine. If you try to be something that you aren’t she will never respect you.” That was exactly what I needed to hear.
As it turned out, the interview was canceled due to something that came up last minute but I did meet her and gave her a hug and I smiled because I could see in her eyes that in our brief time together her presupposition about “conservative Christians” was being challenged. Had the bar of my vision not been raised prior to this encounter I probably would’ve bumbled through that meeting in apprehension instead of faith. I had to get past the fear of personal rejection and make my only concern being the woman Jesus wants me to be and show her His love, because Christ living in (and through) us is our hope (or assurance) of glory (Colossians 1:27).
 

Beautiful To Jesus
“In a world where we see with our eyes, I pray for eyes that see the heart. Because charm is deceitful; beauty is vain. Flesh is unfaithful, and is of no gain. But a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. And I know that when He sees me it won’t be beauty that He longs to hold. It’ll be the love that He finds inside my heart.”1
I believe that if we are representing the King we should have an element of class. To a degree, our appearance does matter because we are bought with a price and we are not our own. We are to glorify God in every area of our lives—even our appearance. But we can’t settle for a beauty that in only skin deep or be content with a mere image. The cry of our heart needs to consistently be, “Lord, make me beautiful to YOU!”
No matter how hard we try, most of us will never live up to our own expectations, and we shouldn’t even try to keep up with the world’s ideas of “beauty.” Yet, Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden light. His call is simply, “Let Me live in and through you and when I see Myself in you I will see a thing of beauty—a vessel of honor, a woman of great worth.” Then we will be beautifully balanced.
When we see others and ourselves through God’s eyes we will have the courage to start a conversation and the humility to not dominate it. We won’t try to downplay God’s mercy or soften His punishment. We will walk in faith and confidence knowing that we are God’s dearly loved children, and at the same time our lives will overflow with compassion.
“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1:7).
Ask God to lift you above the shadows of mere human sight and give you His vision and perspective!

1. Composed by: Kim Hill and Wes King ©1989

Mercy Hope is a twenty five 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.

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