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When have inaccurate perceptions impacted how you saw the facets of your life?
I sat in church one recent Sunday, and I felt convicted. Or maybe it was condemnation tangling my thoughts and heart. I’d been dealing with anxiety from a number of different life events.
Anxiety has a way of twisting truth into self-talk that belittles and shames a soul. Our pastor shared a great message that morning. But it was during communion time when God revealed the disparity about what I thought He believed about me and what He actually believes about me.
Does anyone else have times when we’re sure God thinks one thing of us (almost always, it’s a not very nice thought)? But when we still our hearts before Him, He shares another, very different message.
That morning, as I prepared my heart to take communion, I apologized for my anxiety. My thoughts went round and round about how I should have more trust in my Father. How He must be so disappointed in me. I shrank further into myself as I recounted the ways I’d let anxiety win in my thoughts and heart.
I asked God’s forgiveness and braced for the rebuke I was certain was coming. I deserved it for not trusting Him with all the hard in my life. Didn’t I?
His response brought tears to my eyes:
I love you.
That’s all.
No condemnation, no, “You’re right. Straighten up. Choose to trust Me. Stop dwelling in this anxiety. You’re messing up, girl. Figure it out.”
Sometimes, we view ourselves through the eyes of our failings. When we dwell on these images, we always come out the loser, the condemned. Our perspective is skewed when we view ourselves solely through our own understanding.
How we move beyond inaccurate thought processes
I’m sure there are more ways to overcome inaccurate perceptions, but here are a few that have helped me.
- We need to choose to believe we are who God says we are, not who our thoughts say we are. Inaccurate perceptions about our value in God’s eyes will impact how we perceive everything else.
- Embrace God’s love for us, even when we don’t feel lovable. When our mistakes rise up and call us condemned, we need to lean into God’s grace.
- Spend time in God’s word, maybe even looking for verses that remind us how God see us, how very much He loves us
- Talk with trusted friends about our perceptions. This causes condemnation to lose power, especially when they speak words of life over us
- Ask God to help us see ourselves as He does. Reframing how we view ourselves takes time. So does choosing to remember God’s truth when the lies try to pull us down.
Verses to reframe inaccurate perceptions
Zephaniah 3:17—“The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Jeremiah 31:3—“The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: ‘Yes I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.’”
Isaiah 30:18—“Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for Him.”
Isaiah 46:4—“Even to your old age, I am He, and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.
Daniel 10:19—“And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!” So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”
God, through His angel, called Daniel Beloved. Each of us is His beloved.
Other Verses that Speak to How God Views Us:
How He loves us
Ephesians 1:4-6
John 15:13
Romans 5:8
Romans 8:32
Ephesian 3:14-19
1 John 4:7-10
Psalm 121
God doesn’t see us through the filter of our mistakes but through the lenses of His love and grace.
Conclusion
This truth takes time for me to embrace. I’m still quick to berate myself for less than perfection in my walk. When I begin to trip down the path of condemnation, I stop and remind me of those three timeless words God shouted into my heart during communion that morning:
“I love you.“
May we each remember our Father loves us. When we make mistakes or when we walk strong in faith. God loves us. When we stumble and when we stand strong. God loves us. When we question or when we cling fast to Him: Our Father loves us.
What about you? How do you discover your own inaccurate perceptions? What’s one truth that helps you keep an accurate mindset about how God views you?
Heads up: Next week, we’ll meet at Donna’s place—Serenity in Suffering. Be sure to bookmark her website so it’s easy to get there in the future. 😊
Most weeks, I link up with Grace and Truth, Anita Ojeda, Instaencouragements, and sometimes Let’s Have Coffee. Come join and read more encouraging posts!
Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you. This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters. I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community. Add your own encouraging post through the link below. Spread some love by visiting your neighbor and leaving your own encouragement. Click here to read more about the #TellHisStory community and find a button to add to your site.
Each week we gather here as storytellers, word weavers, and encouragers to make His name known. Our story is God’s story and this small corner of the blogging world, where we come together each Tuesday, needs you. This is a place where poetry, snapshots, prayers, and stories find a safe spot to nod in agreement that what we have to say matters. I am glad you are here and would love to have you join the #TellHisStory community. Add your own encouraging post through the link below. Spread some love by visiting your neighbor and leaving your own encouragement. Click here to read more about the #TellHisStory community and find a button to add to your site.
I confess the verses in Isaiah 46 really resonates with me 😆. So. Many. Grey. Hairs! But it’s ok—God still loves me, he still knows I can make changes and I can still improve! Amen!
Oh, if we could only really see ourselves the way Jesus sees us! What a difference it could make. We allow ourselves glimpses, and they are magnificent. But to live in the depth of God’s love every single hour? I want to continue growing in the realization. Thanks for this, Jeanne!
Lisa, yes! If we could live in a consistent understanding and belief of how God views us, how different would our lives—our hearts—look?? May we both continue growing in this revelation. Thank you, my friend.
Oh, I love those God whispers. I’m glad you heard His loving voice. When I catch myself (which isn’t always the case) thinking negatively about myself, I realize I am looking at “me” instead of “Christ in me.” So, I see in my mind a physical turning back to God. I learned this from a Ted Dekker bible study years ago, which taught what freedom in Christ means. It was life-changing, but in my humanness, I can still work out of my ego, I’d say, the majority of my day. Thank God for His grace, and that He is always there when we turn back to Him.
“God whispers.” Yes, Lynn. Such a good description of God’s quiet words. I love the perspective you share about the difference between us looking at ourselves and looking at Christ in us. I still seem to, at least at times, vacillate between working out of ego rather than through His strength and grace. Thank you for sharing your insights here! They are timely!
It can be so hard to receive and embrace love from the Lord. It’s much easier to believe he is waiting to drop the hatchet and condemn us. The verse from Zeph. is one I needed to be reminded of because He does rejoice over his children. That is what love does…it rejoices. Thank you for this post!
Carrie, yes, it can be hard to receive and embrace God’s love for us. I’ve had to recognize when my thinking about Him is off-base and ask Him to help me see the truth of who He is. Isn’t it an amazing thought that God rejoices over His children? That He sings love over them? So humbling! Thank you so much for stopping by!
Being a co-struggler with self-condemning, this is so comforting, Jeanne. God’s three words to your heart really moves me. The reminder of His love is so powerful, isn’t it? This is so encouraging – “God doesn’t see us through the filter of our mistakes but through the lenses of His love and grace.” Amazing grace! Thank you for all the hope you give here! Love and blessings to you!
P.S. I love your trick of how to take a photo of the ocean. 🙂
Trudy, thank you for being such an encourager. Yes, remembering/being reminded how much God loves us is powerful. I’m beyond grateful our Father sees us through lenses of love and grace. thank you for being such a beautiful presence here.
P.S. I’m glad you liked that photography trick! I had a lot of fun playing with it. 😉
Thank you for sharing your heart here Jeanne.
We do need to remind ourselves often how much God loves us, warts & all.
And that His love doesn’t depend on anything we do or do not do.
As Romans 8: 31-39 tells us ‘nothing’ can separate us from His love ‘nothing’.
Bless you sweet friend, Jennifer
Jennifer, I think it’s especially when we’re walking through difficult seasons that we need to remind ourselves how much God loves us. The passage in Romans that you shared is such a beautiful, powerful one! Thank you for sharing it, my friend!
I struggle a lot with anxiety too and for so long I felt that God was frustrated and disapproving. It is so comforting to know that he loves us despite our struggles, that he doesn’t condemn us and that he gives us more grace than we give ourselves at times.
Lesley, it is very comforting to know our Father loves us despite our struggles. I’m so thankful there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And yes, He definitely gives us more grace than we give ourselves. Thanks for sharing these truths, my friend!
Thanks, Jeanne! Yes, very comforting to know his love and grace.
Zephaniah 3:17 makes me smile every time I read it. Yes, we need to know and believe what God says about us. Thanks, Jeanne.
Debbie, this is one of my favorite verses. His love for us is so evident there and throughout the Bible. Thanks for sharing this verse!
Oh how true this statement is, Jeanne, “Anxiety has a way of twisting truth into self-talk that belittles and shames a soul.” sadly I know this from experience. Truly knowing my loving Father and accepting my identity in Christ helps me root out false perceptions.
Donna, so true. When we know our loving Father and accept our identity in Christ, those false perceptions can be dispelled much more easily.
Oh friend … I needed to read this today. The verses you’ve shared bring peace as I deal with my own current anxiety inducing situation. Such a comfort to know we are on this journey together.
Lois, it’s always encouraging to know words offer encouragement. I’m saying a prayer for you as you deal with your own anxious situation, my friend. It is indeed a comfort to know we’re on this journey together!
I’ve had experiences like that–when I felt sure rebuke was coming, but then God reassured me of His love. He does rebuke and discipline when we need it, but even that is in love rather than as an angry taskmaster. Our perceptions of ourselves will always be off when we gaze at ourselves. When we gaze at Him, everything else falls into place.
Barbara, you’re right. There are times when God rebukes and gives discipline, and we deserve it. It’s an amazing thought to me that, even when He does this, it’s in love and lovingly. I loved your thoughts here!
As we give ourselves grace and space when anxiety comes to call, the Holy Spirit calms our hearts. He lets us know that He is near, that this too shall pass, and that all will be well. He doesn’t condemn us or shame us, He is merciful and kind to us in our humanness. We are loved and accepted by our Heavenly Father. We are free indeed! What a wonderful Savior!
Linda, I so love your words and the truths you share about the Lord in the midst of anxiety. I am so thankful for God’s continual love, His patience, and His grace with us. He leaves me speechless.
I do know what God wants with me,
I do not have to try;
to gain the star-bright victory
I merely have to die.
But that is not the worst of it,
there is one more hard curse:
as I go on through the s***,
I’m to set it down in verse.
Someone tell why I was chosen,
and not Joe Blow down the street?
Why did my dreams get all frozen
in a rain of snow and sleet?
And why, with this big bill to pay
do I find I feel OK?
Ahhh, Andrew. The question of the ages . . . .”Why?” Your perspective in the middle of your challenging, painful, sometimes seemingly hopeless situation is one that offers hope in a way no one else can. I’m praying for you and Barb, my friend. Every day.