Devotion: Seeing Ourselves with God’s Eyes

 “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” ~Henry David Thoreau

For most of my life I have looked at myself and seen a “bigger girl.” I saw every extra pound . I continuously wrestled with wanting to honor my body by losing weight and being content with who I am as a whole person—extra fluff and all. My worldly mirrors reflected what I chose to see, which was all my external flaws. I was always so thankful for my long curly hair, small wrists, and button nose because they somewhat made up for my more than generous calves, which simply would not fit into cute tall boots!

Then, a few years ago, I was talking with my best friend Cassie about how people see us. I laughed and said, “I am just the chubby girl who is always smiling.”

Cassie stopped, got completely serious, and said, “Not once have I ever thought that about you. And I don’t think anyone who knows you has ever thought that about you either.” She then proceeded to tell me what she did see when she looked at me, and none of it was external. It was beautiful and humbling and not at all what I expected.

You need to know something very important about Cassie—she is a truth-teller. She never shies away from the saying the hard things, she doesn’t sugar coat the truth to make you feel better, she loves deeply, and she is fiercely loyal. She says what she means, so I believe her when she speaks. And in that moment, she reminded me of the difference between looking at someone and truly seeing them.

She saw the real me, while I was only looking at the shell.

What if we could see ourselves through the lenses of our friends and loved ones? Even better—what if we could see ourselves through the lens of our Father?  What would we see?  We surely wouldn’t see God commenting on our dimpled thighs or muffin top.  Instead, I believe we would see our Father, who loves us unconditionally and covers all our flaws with unending grace, reminding us that we are beautiful, precious, and created in His holy image.

I ran across a message by A. Stephen Van Kuiken that simply captured this very thought:

God’s clear-sighted vision does not overlook our weakness, but it sees so much more. And when we see ourselves as God sees us, this is what we do, too. It reminds me of a short prayer:  O God, help me to believe the truth about myself no matter how beautiful it is!*

[Tweet “What if we were brave enough to believe the truth about ourselves no matter how beautiful it is? “]What if we could learn to truly see ourselves the way God does—through the lens of unconditional love? Imagine how our eyes would change when we look out into this hurting world. What a difference we would make if we stopped looking at our external shells and started truly seeing God’s truth inside us, no matter how beautiful it is.

Lord, I thank you for seeing our hearts and believing the very best in us even when we don’t see it. Please give us new eyes this week.  Show us how to truly see ourselves and others through Your eyes of love, grace, and truth. Teach us how to take our new sight into the hurting world around us so we can truly see and love on Your people. Amen.

Scripture for Reflection

“For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16: 7 NASB)

Reach for More

This week’s challenge is to look past the mirror, past the imperfections, and truly see ourselves through God’s eyes. Each morning when you first look in the mirror, I challenge you to say one beautiful truth about who God made you to be. Fight the urge to find fault. Get comfortable with loving on yourself, because the better we learn to love ourselves, the better we will be able to love everyone else. Allow yourself to see God’s truth, no matter how beautiful it is.

Dear friends, we can do this. Be courageous, and know this: the reflection in the mirror is holy, so be kind to it.

Please come back and leave a comment telling us about how God spoke to you this week, or share your progress on social media using the hashtag #tgtreachformore. We would love to hear from you.

*Macrina Wiederkehr quoted in A Grateful Heart, edited by M. J. Ryan.

Sarah Lundgren has a passion for all things sparkly, loves God with her whole heart, and is known to love Starbucks chai lattes a whole lot, too. Sarah is currently snuggled in the heart of Grand Rapids, Michigan with her sweet hubby, J, and her full-time job is making pretty things all day long for her Etsy business, so sarah designs, but she also loves writing devotional content here at The Glorious Table.