God Will Seem To Us What We Seem To Ourselves

Unfortunately I have lived many years with a tendency toward self-destruction.  While my modus operandi has not been physical infliction, I have used a broad range of hate-filled words to dismantle God’s grace over my life.

I have used toxic words against myself more times that I can count, absolutely heaping catastrophic devastation to God’s masterpiece.
Words like: ugly, stupid, useless, weak, and incompetent.

Oh but God has a way of revealing truth in scripture that not only administers salve to the soul, but also gently corrects, while offering us a better way to think.

And in the midst of an intense season of wrestling with worth and value, the Lord, in His kindness, speaks… and I know that I cannot remain the same.

In Psalm 18:25-26 David gives us a glimpse into a self-examination that rocks me to the core.  He says this, “To the faithful You show Yourself faithful; to those with integrity You show integrity.  The the pure You show Yourself pure, but to the cooked You show Yourself shrewd.”
Oh yes.

And the verse I’ve read at least a half dozen times in my life, now becomes something entirely different.

I see it there in the pages of my bible as if He is wooing and pursuing me to see the way He sees.  Because ALL is an invitation to do better and think better.

To the FAITHFUL… He shows Himself as FAITHFUL.
To those who have INTEGRITY… He shows them His INTEGRITY.
To those who are PURE… He shows Himself as PURE.

But… to the CROOKED… He shows Himself as SHREWD.
Other versions say:
to the “hostile” You show Yourself as “wicked.”  (GNT)
to the “morally corrupt” You appear to be “perverse.”  (ISV)
to the “fraudulent” You will show Yourself “devious.”  (AKJV)

And so could it be that God will always seem to us just as we seem to ourselves before Him?
Could it be that the way that we see ourselves… through the lens of His love and His grace… changes everything?

And so I make a list for myself today of the very ways I must begin seeing myself in light of how I see Him in order to have a right view of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords!

I am gracious because He is gracious.
And when I see myself as gracious… I view Him as gracious.  And I can personalize it:
“To the gracious… He will show Himself gracious.”

I am loving because He is loving.
And when I see myself as loving… I view Him as loving.  And I can personalize it:
“To the loving… He will show Himself loving.”

The list goes on and on… kind, generous, joyful, patient, long-suffering, sincere, good, honest, true, steadfast, peaceful, righteous, holy, humble, forgiving, sustaining, comforting, accepting, dependable, strong, honorable.

And so it begins… a journey into becoming that which God says I am.  In becoming the one who is love, because He… is… Love.

Because I desire to have Him reveal to me the true nature of His character, I shall change the way I think of my own character in relation to His own.  After all… I have been “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps 139:14) and belong with those who were created, “in our (God) image, after our likeness.”  (Gen 1:26)

God will always seem to us just as we seem to ourselves before Him.

Let’s retrain our minds to think as He thinks.