Proverbs 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good.
1Sam. 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. If we could see ourselves from God’s point of view, we would be utterly amazed at who God knows us to be in Christ Jesus. If we want to know the best version of who we are, then we will have to commune with the Lord. We will not find God’s eternal version of ourselves in a self-help book, self-improvement app, or on the pages of a glossy magazine. We will only find out who we are in the presence of the Lord.
The Lord created us and weaved our DNA out of His infinite vision of who we are. God thought of us individually, and here we are, living and breathing souls. Psalm 139:13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. The devil sees the worst version of our lives because all he ever sees is the evil that is on the earth. God, on the other hand, can see the best possible version of our hearts because the Lord can see our eternity in Christ. The Lord can direct and woo our souls because He created them, and knows exactly what will inspire us. Yes, we still have the free will to choose whether we will follow God. The Lord’s advantage is that He created the abilities and giftings within our souls and He knows our purpose for living. Therefore, the Lord can direct us with honest love and devotion toward our well-being.
Satan can only tempt, abuse, and deceive us into believing that we are less than who God says we are. The devil tempts us with sin, abuses us with depression, and deceives us with lies so that we do not believe the version of who God says we are in Christ. Satan has to beguile our hearts because he has no real say or power over our lives. Therefore, the devil must con us into relinquishing the authority God has given us, plus Satan is jealous of the love God has for us. This jealousy causes him to act out in continual tantrums like an evil petulant child as he breaks everything God declared as good. Satan intends to destroy the true version of our life’s purpose with distortions and fabricated lies. John 8:44b When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil’s focus on us is far too intense, and therefore, we have to be more than the mess he says we are. If it is true that we are all the terrible things Satan says we are, then why does he have to keep reinforcing the bullying narrative that he spews over and over again? The reality is that we are eternally secure in our saviour’s hands, but Satan’s time is short. Rev. 12:12b For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time. It is not our time that is short, it is the enemy of our soul’s time that is coming to an end, and he is violently opposed to our expressing and living with the love of God. Even though Satan pretends to be an angel of light, we will never get the best version of who we are from his ugly dark heart. It is impossible for Satan to love and have joy. How pathetic he is.
Why is the joy of the Lord our strength? Because in God’s presence there is joy forevermore. The joy, peace, and love that emanates from God rains on us, who are the apple of His eye. Psalm 17:8 Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me under the shadow of Your wings. We cannot come away from the presence of the Lord without being transformed, revived, and inspired to be the person God says we are in Christ. If you want food, you grow it or go to a food store. If you want gasoline for your car, you go to a gas station. if you want to fly to another country, you go to the airport and take a flight. If you want real love, you go to the Godhead who is love.
God knows every person who exists by name and every situation we are in, whether good or bad. Prov. 15:3 The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, observing the wicked and the good. Those who are in Christ can grow into the version of who God says they are. If we want to be the best version of ourselves, then our Heavenly Father is the only one who knows the beginning from the end of our entire lives. The Lord has the blueprint to the very DNA we are knitted with. We do not need to go to a counterfeit blowhard liar like Satan, who claims to know what we need. No, Saints. We go to the Lord of mercy, the author and finisher of our faith, to be the best version of who we are in Christ. Amen!
It is so good to be reminded of the greatness of God! He has a different opinion of us because He sees us through the sacrifice of Jesus.
Amen