Seeing myself through His eyes...

Psalm 4:3-5 (New International Version) 3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the LORD will hear when I call to him. I am spending time with Jesus today. I have spent way too long away from him, depending on my own power, strength and resources. And I am ashamed to say that I was wrong. I am sorry, Lord. Now I am starting anew and asking God for His mercy and grace. I am thrilled that He is patient with me. I claim the promise that says, "He will never leave me, nor forsake me." Today, is the first day of the rest of my life. Today's devotion says to me several important truths. 1. I am to KNOW something. What I am to know is that God has "set apart" the godly for himself. I am that godly He has set apart. Set apart means to sanctify. He "sanctifies" me for Himself. I am honored that He chooses to sanctify me for Himself. I am unworthy that He is even willing to do this. I feel uncomfortable that He even calls me "godly". God's willingness to do this means to me that He values and loves me. And that He is doing it for a purpose. I rejoice in this wonderful truth that God wants me to know this. In addition to all of this, the rest of the verse says that God will hear me when I call to Him! I praise the Lord for this! I feel undeserving that He would do this: Give me an assurance of something significant, that He cares deeply for me to set me apart; that He does this for Himself as if He enjoys doing this and He listens when I pray to Him. All I can say is Praise His holy Name. (Psalm 103:1, 2). To know is something that is personal and intimate. It is not merely thinking or believing or having some information. It includes that and goes beyond to include an activity reserved for lovers. To know is to have a conjugal experience with your lover. God wants me as His Lover to know that He cares, loves, and enjoys me. He calls me godly. He calls me friend. I am a friend of God. I am reserved and set apart for Him. I feel wonderful to know He feels this way about me. Why does God feel this way about me? It must be because He loves me. I can't understand such love. I know in the deepest part of me that I don't deserve His love. This must be grace! Grace is unmerited favor. Grace is God's kindness in action that He treats me opposite of what I deserve. What I deserve is death. Yet, He loves me to enjoy me for Himself! I can't fully understand that God would enjoy me for Himself. Why? Because I see myself through my eyes and my life experience tells me that there is no value, worth and reason for enjoyment. The spiritual maturity comes in the realization that I need to change the focus from looking at myself through my eyes, and now through my Father's eyes. Remember Amy Grant's song, My Father's Eyes. What difference would it make if I stopped looking at myself through my eyes, and through His eyes? Would I see myself differently? Would my sense of worthy and value be different if I were to see myself through God's eyes? Definitely, Yes! To see myself through God's eyes means that He sees something of worth and value in myself that I don't see. He knows something of value and worthy in myself that I don't know. He believes in me something that I don't believe in myself. He realizes something of a purpose in my life that I haven't realized or discovered yet. What's exciting is to sense that something important is going to happen if I were to see, know, believe and realize something about myself if I were to see/know/believe/realize through My Father's Eyes, and not through my eyes. Just as important as what it says about me is what this discovery says about God! I see my worth and value not dependent upon my perspective, but from His perspective. I find out that what it says about God is that He is a loving, merciful, gracious and believing God that He would find something redeeming, of worth, and value in myself that it blows my mind. I am humbled to know that God sees something in me that He cherishes. I am moved to love Him back. I am empowered to serve Him because of this perspective. Prayer: Lord, I've struggled with my self-worth all of my life because I see myself through my eyes. You are teaching me to change the focus from looking through my eyes to through Your eyes. When I do this something transforming happens! I see my sense of value and worth from Your perspective. And it humbles, moves and empowers me. I now have a purpose for living that I hadn't before. And I want now to be spent totally for You. You initiated this change. And I am thankful, grateful and in eternal debt to you! A debt I can never repay. A debt of love to Someone who is the greatest Lover who ever lived. I want to spend the rest of my life looking not only at myself, but to family, friends, community and the world through Your eyes. My Father's eyes! My Father's eyes, by Amy Grant: I may not be every mother's dream for her little girl. And my face may not grace the mind of everyone in the world. But that's all right as long as I can have one wish I pray. When people look inside my life, I want to hear them say. CHORUS: She's got her Father's eyes, her Father's eyes Eyes that find the good in things, When good is not around. Eyes that find the source of help, When help just can't be found. Eyes full of compassion, seeing every pain. Knowin' what you're going through, and feeling it the same. Just like my Father's eyes, my Father's eyes, my Father's eyes Just like my Father's eyes. And on that day when we will pay for all the deeds we have done, Good and bad they'll all be had to see by everyone And when you're called to stand and tell just what you saw in me, More than anything I know, I want your words to be