What God Sees When He Looks at You

But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:17

One of our key ministry partners, Ron, shared how he had a dear friend named Tyler, who was from a good Christian family, was great at sports, and was living the “American Dream.” After college, however, Tyler started hanging out with the wrong crowd and developed a severe drug and drinking problem, which in turn led to a series of devastating mistakes.

Within a twenty-four-month period, Tyler lost everything he held dear in his life. Ashamed and miserable, Tyler dropped out of church and almost gave up on life, God, and grace. But God, in His grace, was still reaching out to Tyler (through Ron), as Ron related in this story:

One night, while jogging at a park and listening to a message by Pastor Prince, I felt God prompting me to send Tyler a text message. I felt that God wanted me to ask Tyler, “What does God see when He looks at you?” So while running, I texted him exactly those words. After a long time, I received his text reply:

Tyler: “Are you serious?” Ron: “Yes.”

Tyler: “Well . . . I’m sure it’s not good.” Ron: “Jesus.”

Tyler: “What do you mean?”

Ron: “I mean, when God looks at you, He sees Jesus!” Thirty minutes later, I got this message:

Tyler: “Thanks, man, you don’t know how badly I needed to hear that!”

Would it bless your heart to know that this is the very message God wants you to receive today? If you are like Tyler, then you believe God’s love for you depends on your actions.

You honestly believe God is ashamed of you because of your mistakes and failures. Well, you may have either not heard or have forgotten that the payment for your sins has already been made in full upon the body of Jesus at the cross.

Therefore, when God looks at you today, He doesn’t judge, esteem, and measure you according to your imperfections. He sees you in the Beloved—He sees you in Christ, and He sees the blood that has been shed for you by His dear Son.

When God looks at you today, He sees Jesus. Because of this, His thoughts toward you are thoughts of loving-kindness, forgiveness, blessings, and favor.

Jesus paid an immensely heavy price on the cross so that you can live life completely accepted and unconditionally loved by God. Knowing and believing this will make all the difference in how you live your life—no matter what is staring you in the face.

This devotional is taken from the book 100 Days of Right Believing—Daily Readings from The Power of Right Believing.