Renew Your Viewpoint & Change Your Life

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful; I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

The other day as I was spending time with God in worship and prayer, I heard the Lord whisper this question to me....and it rocked my world...

He said, "Ashley, when you look at yourself, you see yourself in one way, but how do I see you?"

As I began to ponder this question, God opened my eyes to how He sees me when He looks at me....and the same is true for you.  Let me explain!

You see, when we look at ourselves, many times, we see ourself in our current state...our past mistakes, our current circumstances and our seemingly far off hopes and dreams in the future.  We have very limited vision.  But when God looks at us, He sees us as He made us to be.  He doesn't see what we are right now, but He sees our life from beginning to end and sees the great purpose He made us for and how as we partner with Him, we will become that!

Let me explain in this way...My husband loves to cook.  Over the holidays, he went to the grocery store as he had his stomach set on cooking ribs.  When he purchased the ribs, he bought them with the intention of eating them how he envisioned them once they were cooked...basted with delicious sauces, slow cooking them on the smoker, and meat falling off the bones....He didn't envision eating them in the current "raw" state.  That would not only be unappetizing but unsafe to eat!

Or another way I explained it to my mom who is a talented artist....when she gets ready to paint an original piece of artwork....she begins with a blank canvas and some paints.  She looks at the canvas and gets excited about how beautiful the creation is going to be when she finishes.  She doesn't think about the canvas in it's current blank white state but the potential of what it will become.

And so it is with God, He had a beautiful plan when he formed us in our mother's womb....we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  And when He looks upon us, His beloved child, He gets so filled with JOY!  He sees the plans He has for us...plans of hope and a future.  He sees how right now we are in "process" but oh how amazing His plan is for us!  

So, I want you to renew your viewpoint from how you see yourself (limited) to how God sees you (unlimited).  Start dreaming with Him and take some time to journal His thoughts for you....what does He want you to know?  What is His plan?  What does He want you to do today to partner with Him?  It's an exciting journey if we will be bold enough to travel it with Him!

XO,

Ashley