February 8th
February 8th
We’ve talked a lot about the enemy and his lies and lures and schemes. We have talked about needing discernment so that we can walk in the truth and recognize the lies. We have talked about not falling for the distractions of this world that the enemy uses to try and lure us away or keep us “busy” and distracted. We have talked about regularly evaluating our own hearts and lives to be sure we are still on track. We have talked about needing God’s perspective so that we can walk in His will and treat people and circumstances for what they really are rather than how they appear. In all that talk we have faced the hard truths that we all need to hear. We have reviewed how we are not our own but are bought with a price and should be living 100% for Christ with everything revolving around Him. Multiple times we read the verse about denying ourselves and taking up our cross daily. These are all true and must be the center of our thoughts. But…in all of that we can’t neglect to apply the same principles in another way.
We need to get God’s perspective of US. Not just from the standpoint of His love for us, which we have also talked about, but we need to see the human being that He created. Yes the Holy Spirit is working to transform us into who He created us to be, but also there is within us the beautiful gifts, the uniqueness, the precious parts of our personality, the way He made our individual minds work. The way we each appreciate different aspects of His creation, we notice different details, we enjoy different things. He put each of us together as unique individuals for a reason. Part of it may be important or pertinent to what He will call us to do or for carrying out a certain part of His plan. However, some parts of who we are may simply be for His enjoyment. He may absolutely love your laugh. OR maybe the way you appreciate a certain part of His creation just makes His day. Maybe even just the shape of your nose delights Him (He made it after all.) Those kinds of things don’t seem to be related to our ability to carry out His plan in our lives, so they may purely be for His pleasure. It’s like music, He didn’t have to create music, nothing crucial absolutely depends on music, it is purely for pleasure (ours and His.) SO before you go being critical about yourself, realize that you were created with a purpose, for a reason, and for His pleasure. Those very things that make you you, may be important to the plan or may be just for Him to enjoy and dote over. Allowing the Holy Spirit to transform you through the process of sanctification enhances the natural things that God created. Transformation doesn’t remove what God created, it restores you to what He created, removing the sin and redeeming the person. There is no room for pride, but you SHOULD appreciate who God created you to be and your uniqueness. You should realize that you bring pleasure to Him. You don’t just matter to Him, He delights in you.
Psalm 139:14-16 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Psalm 18:19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
When you pray and ask the Lord to help you to see others through His eyes, include yourself in that prayer. You just might be surprised what He shows you.
Lord Jesus, thank you for your love for me. Help me to appreciate who you made me to be. Help me to honestly evaluate my heart and life but not to be critical of this human that you created. Help me to be humble before you but not humiliated. Show me when I am being critical or negative about myself in an unproductive way. Thank you for making me me. Help me to appreciate myself the way you do. Show me how you created me for a purpose and help me to recognize the gifts you have given me and how you want to use them. Thank you for your perfect love and perfect plan.