How do you see yourself?

I know what it’s like to feel worthless and to feel like a failure. I know what it’s like to not want to get up and face the day or others. It’s not easy to move when your view of yourself is not what it should be. I struggled with who I was and why I was here. It was the lowest time of my life, but I also learned a few things in the valley.

I learned that who I see myself as reflects in how I behave. I also learned that who I see myself as is not who God sees me as. To get out of that pit of self destruction, I had to do a few things.

1. Realize that I am created in God’s image

In the very first book of the Bible, God puts His worth in you. He looked down and formed us after himself. He then said it was good. If God looks at you and sees that what He created is good, you should too. Don’t let circumstances in your life dictate your worth.

You are a valuable creation to God, not just a number. He knows the very number of hair on your head. If He cares enough to know that about you, He must place a high value on you. I love my son, but I don’t know how many hairs he has. God took the time to know you inside and out because you are worth it.

2. See myself as God sees me

When you look in the mirror, do you see what you think people see or what God sees? It’s easy to sit there and think, “I’m too skinny. Too fat. Too tall. Too short. Too ugly. Too undesirable. Too out of shape.” It’s hard to push those thoughts out and to look in the mirror to see what God sees. Scripture says that man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at your heart.

Don’t be fooled into putting your self worth on what people look at. See yourself as God sees you. When He looks at you He sees a marvelous creation. He puts enough worth on you alone that He sent His son to die for you so He could be with you. It shouldn’t matter if someone you know doesn’t place that value on you. God does.

3. Change my thoughts

Your behavior is a reflection of what you think. If you think negatively about yourself, your actions will show it. You won’t want to get up. You won’t want to be around friends. You will try to seclude yourself. That’s the most dangerous place to be. When you shut everyone else out, you have no support system. That is not what God wants for you.

Psalm 139:17 says, “How precious and weighty are your thoughts about me, O God (AMP / NLT).” If God thinks highly of you, don’t let your mind tell you otherwise. Think the thoughts that God thinks of you. Find out in scripture what God thinks of you. Surround yourself with people who will see you as God sees you. Tell them you need their help to see yourself that way.

You are God’s creation that He loves. He wants you to know that and to live like that. Just because circumstances tell you one thing, it doesn’t mean that it is God’s reality for you. God’s reality of who you are is greater than your circumstances. What do you need to change today to see yourself as God sees you?