The You God Sees
And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” Judges 6:12
God sees beyond your weaknesses; He sees your possibilities. Recently, I was asked what I enjoyed most about going to school in Australia. My answer might sound strange, but I enjoyed wearing a uniform to school. That is why what I am about to share next was so challenging for my 16-year-old self. One day at school, there was an unexpected announcement inviting students to come the next day in “regular” clothes, rather than our usual uniforms. The reason for my distress? I was dreading the embarrassment of showing up to school without having anything “nice” to wear. You see, growing up, my family shopped at thrift stores, and I did not have what my peers would call fashionable clothes. I felt the pressure of wanting to fit in and be accepted, which led to a sleepless night for me that evening in tenth grade.
Back then, I thought the issue was simply about clothes, but over the years, I have come to realize it was about insecurity. You may also remember a time in life when you tried to cover your insecurity in some way, or maybe you said to yourself, “God could never use me.”
A character in the Bible who also tries to hide his insecurities is Gideon. The Midianites were plundering the land, including his own family's crops, leading the Israelites to the verge of starvation and fear. Like the nation of Israel, Gideon was also scared and wondered whether God had given up on His chosen people, so he hid in a winepress from the Midianites. That is why it is so surprising that the angel of the Lord called Gideon a mighty man of valor at the very moment he felt the weakest. God saw Gideon as mighty when Gideon saw himself as insignificant. Through this story, we get a powerful insight into God’s character. God sees within us not just the person we are right now, but He sees who we can become through Him.
Could the same be true for you as it was for Gideon? How you see yourself may be different from the person God sees in you. We tend to focus simply on our weaknesses, failures, and setbacks, but God looks beyond them. Ellen White powerfully states that “In the human heart He [Christ] sees more than sin, more than misery. In His infinite wisdom and love He sees man’s possibilities, the height to which he may attain.” It is not that God ignores our sin rather God looks beyond it. Like God’s declaration to Gideon, may we also refuse to let our weakness and fear have the final word in our lives through faith in His word. For God sees beyond our weaknesses; He sees our possibilities.
REFLECTION
When you think about how God sees you, do you focus more on your weaknesses or on your potential? Why do you think that is?
How might your life change if you began to see yourself the way God sees you?
What is one area of your life where you have let weakness or fear have the final word? What would it look like to let God’s perspective have the final word instead?
