Two beliefs have the most effect on our lives. How we see God, and how we think He sees us. Our perception of God develops as children and evolves over our lifetime. God never changes. Each day brings a new revelation about who He is, and our understanding of Him changes. As we read the Bible and pray, the Word of God forms our perceptions of Him. As we fellowship with others, their perception influences our own.
This perception sets the perimeters for our relationship with Him. It influences our faith and how we pray. It plays a part in what we do with our lives and how we influence those around us.
For years, I carried the perception that God was just waiting for me to mess up. I knew the Bible said He loved me, but I thought He had too. I figured He tolerated me because Jesus died for everyone, and that included me. I'm not sure where this came from; my parents certainly didn't instill that belief in me. I didn't even know that was the way I thought until one day, I realized I didn't know God and was a little bit afraid of Him. I was comfortable with Jesus and Holy Spirit, but not God, the Father.
When these revelations hit me, I began asking Holy Spirit to help me see God. The first thing I learned was God not only loves me, but He likes me. He actually enjoys being with me. He desires to experience the world through me.
That led me to my next question, how does God see me? I knew what the Bible said about me, but I wanted to know how God saw me, Jodee. I was persistent in this, asking over and over. "God, how do you see me? What is there about me that you like, that you would want to be my friend?" I knew I should take His word for it and accept it in faith, but I wanted something more specific for me.
Over time, He would take me to various scriptures, devotionals, blogs, and YouTube messages about how God sees us. He spoke quietly in my spirit to confirm what I was hearing. I was learning and growing more confident in how He saw me, but I still wanted something more personal.
One morning, as I sat on my porch with my coffee, I prayed about this again. But God, I whined my prayer, how do you see ME? How can I grow in the person you created me to be if I don't know who she is?"
How He answered me that morning was unexpected and spectacular! A blue jay flew and landed on a very narrow window sill. This has never happened before or since. He sat there, barely three feet away, and looked straight at me. He stared at me for a little bit and then flew away.
I said, "God, that was cool. What a beautiful bird, and he looked at me like he was trying to tell me something". About then, I felt Holy Spirt say, "he was, look up the symbolism of a blue jay. That is some of how we see you.".
That started me on a path of discovery. As I went through the symbolisms I found, I felt a confirmation in my spirit about some of them. Others I felt should be rejected. Since then, I received more personal words in my spirit that continue to build a picture of how God sees me.
So now you. Take a few minutes and answer these two questions. Be completely honest with yourself and God. If you're not sure of the answers, set aside time to talk to Him about them. He will answer; he delights in you as a good father delights in his children.
- How am I perceiving God at this time in my life? Is it different than I saw Him years ago?
- How does God see me? What exactly does He like about me?
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4 comments
I’ve been spending some time perusing your blog. The Lord is also working me over on something and this is what I needed to read today. The Lord taught me so much about Himself years ago when I had much wrong thinking about Him. I need to work on my wrong thinking about myself. I am His child and He delights in me! Thank you so much!
What a beautiful experience! I think the devil delights in taking away our identity in Christ. He wants us to see ourselves as not enough, unworthy, and of no account.
Excellent post!
How do we get things so wrong? It has to break God’s heart when we believe negative things about Him. 💔😟