The Power of Self Perception
Whether we'd like to admit it or not, sometimes it is hard to see yourself the way God sees you. For many of us, our self-perception has not had the luxury of being influenced by ideal conditions. For some of us, how we see ourselves has been influenced by several factors, including physical abuse, verbal abuse, and even, for some, sexual abuse.
Some of us are still dealing with the scars of abandonment and rejection from those who were supposed to love, care for, and do right by us. And because those people have neglected to honor the values on the inside of us, we have been on life-long journeys searching for validity outside of ourselves.
As a result, we take on habitual thoughts that are inaccurate or negative perceptions of ourselves. Negative thoughts of ourselves put us in a precarious position because it breeds unbelief. Unbelief will always delay the reality of promises and opportunities God desires for us to enter.
How you see yourself determines where you see yourself. If you see yourself as a grasshopper, you will find yourself making noise but thinking small. If you think of yourself as a dead dog like Mephibosheth, you will find yourself wondering and never feeling worthy of love.
Today, I want to encourage you to see yourself from God's perspective. In the scriptures, King David says it like this: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made." That word 'Fearfully' in Hebrew is the word 'Yare'. It means to cause astonishment and awe, be held in awe, and inspire reverence or godly fear.
Having the right self-perception is how David defeated Goliath, not because of his strength, not because of his weapons, but because of his positive self-perception of himself. He knew that wherever he went, wherever he showed up, he was going to cause awestruck. He would cause people to be in awe not simply because he was David but because he was made fearfully by Almighty God.
Let me ask you a question. Do you see yourself as having been made fearfully, or because of a negative self-perception, do you find yourself living fearfully? Listen, God calls you His friend, He calls you justified, He says that you are not condemned, God calls you accepted, He sees you and calls you free, He calls you a new creation, He calls you chosen, He calls you alive, He calls you bold and righteous, and the list goes on and on. The scripture says this: "How many awesome thoughts do you think about me! They are more than the sands that cover the whole world.
My friend, if this is how God sees you, you owe it to yourself to see yourself in a new way. In a more powerful way. I know the things that happened to you hurt you, but they don't define you. Stop listening to the voices of your past and open your ears to what God is saying about you! In doing this, I believe you'll go further than you've ever dreamed possible.
