How God Sees You

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I love just about any movie with Tom Hanks in it. Yes, I know everybody loves Tom Hanks, so my statement is certainly not profound or controversial, but just for the record, he was one of my favorite actors long before “Sleepless in Seattle” was released in 1993. I can remember watching “Bosom Buddies” reruns after school and being hooked on his one-of-a-kind comedic timing and boy-next-door charm. And, of course, when “Splash” came out in 1984, I begged my Mom to take me to the theater. I mean, what girl wouldn’t want to see a live-action movie about a mermaid?

So when interesting things happen in life, as you can imagine, I often think of a Tom Hanks film. While adjusting to our new house is not nearly as bad as the absolute debacle in the film, lately I have been pining to revisit Mr. Hanks’ first-of-many collaborations with Steven Spielberg — “The Money Pit,” which tells the hilarious story of a couple pouring endless amounts of coin into a fixer-upper that is clearly never going to be fixed. Since it’s one of the few Hanks movies I don’t have in my embarrassingly large DVD collection, I have to admit that part of me is afraid to go digging online for it because watching it might actually hit too close to home. More than anything else, it’s a recent experience cleaning up some construction debris that made me think of Tom’s most famous line from the movie: “Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house, and it killed him.” No, our new house is not going to kill us, but I think the number of unexpected problems we’re dealing with has quite possibly shaved a few years off our lives and undoubtedly increased the percentage of gray hairs on my head.

One of the messiest projects currently underway at our house is the repair of a broken pipe underneath our back patio. Since the demolition of cement slabs is required to get underground and fix the issues, we have a long way to go yet before the process of restoration can begin. Round one of the deconstruction to find the breaks is over, but the second wave of work needed to completely expose the affected area surrounding the bad pipe is coming next week. Given that construction dust is not good for the surrounding foliage we had just planted along the back fence, I went outside the morning after the initial demolition to rinse off the leaves, branches, and flowers. Besides making a mental note to gently cover them before the next round of chaos begins, I noticed that the dust seemed to cling unusually well to one new plant in particular — the star jasmine, which is a thick, flowering vine prized for its fragrant white blooms. Frustrated by the stubborn stickiness of the dust, I rinsed the leaves three times, only to find them still coated in a thin film of white hours later. It was clear a quick rinsing wasn’t going to do the job. If I wanted to give this young plant a fair shot at life, I was going to have to get down on my hands and knees and gingerly wipe each and every leaf.

As I began the tedious chore, I quickly realized that for such a small plant, this star jasmine already had what seemed like a thousand leaves. This was going to be way more work than I wanted it to be. So as my frustration levels rose along with the heat of the day, I teetered on becoming downright cranky with the whole situation. I grew angry with myself for not remembering to cover the new plants in the first place, and I began to stew all over again at the unfairness of having to correct the previous owner’s apparent neglect. And just as I was sliding into an abyss of bitterness for the day, I remembered a request I had asked of God a few weeks earlier when we realized the scope of problems with our new house. I had prayed for His perspective on these problems, not mine. I had asked Him to give me eyes to see His blessings, purpose, and patience through this season. I asked Him to draw me closer to Him in the struggle, rather than leaning on my own resources (of which I had none left anyway), wisdom, and resilience.
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“Here’s your opportunity,” a still small voice whispered in my heart. “How would I see this task? What can you learn about Me at this moment?”

I smiled when the whisper came, and that small recognition tenderly pulled me back to a sitting position, right down into the dust with the star jasmine. In my bitter, inward ranting, I had previously refused to sit down during the process and had instead chosen to bend over or squat while rubbing leaves one by one. I hadn’t wanted to give in to the task, nor had I wanted to get dirty myself. Almost like an unconscious protest, I had opted for the aching back and leg cramps, rather than finding a comfortable position to do my work. Now, as I sat down in the dust with the plant and felt relief slowly rising in my extremities, I shook my head in wonder at God. Right there, sitting in the rubble and mud, I caught a glimpse of Jesus. Not only does He get down in the grime of our messes to help us come out of them, He walks through each phase of the construction process with us — demolition, clean-up, and full restoration. We not only get to know His character during these seasons, but we also learn how to tangibly rely on Him for everything in life with ever-increasing intensity.

It would have been so easy for me to opt for the quick solution with that small star jasmine. It had just been planted, so going to the greenhouse and buying another one would have been far easier than cleaning hundreds of leaves one by one. But God had a message for me that He could only deliver through the dust and the sweat. His Word tells me to be a good steward with the resources He’s given me, and discarding a perfectly good plant for the sake of my convenience wouldn’t honor Him. And I think it was that initial obedience to do the work — although reluctantly, I admit — that ushered in His ultimate purpose for that moment: He wanted me to see me as He sees me. And through that vision, He wanted me to draw closer to Him. And how does He see me? How does He see you? Well, frankly, we’re like a fledgling young plant with great potential but almost always covered in some kind of construction dust. Sure, there are moments where most areas of our lives seem to be going well, and we’re growing by leaps and bounds. But more often than not, we are always going through some kind of demolition or construction project in one area or another. Sometimes the demolition phase is for our own good, and other times, it brings widespread damage because of our own destructive choices. But regardless of the cause, Jesus is there in the midst of it all to shepherd every detail of our restoration. That’s because God sees us as a part of Himself. Made in His very image and created to be one with Him, His spirit dwells inside of all those who believe and follow. We are His temple. His earthly home. His child. His heir. We are called to walk in the very likeness of His Son. So, no matter the cause of the problem, whether we’re covered in the remnants of our own sins and mistakes, or we’re coated in suffering through no fault of our own, Jesus will always be there to wipe off the construction dust and expose us to the light and nourishment of His presence.

We are all vulnerable to forgetting how God sees us, especially the most seasoned of believers. Life has a way of hardening us as we grow, sometimes turning our previous trials and hardships into recurring memories that we allow to shape our perspective and cloud our vision. The newness of God’s cleansing presence and the yielding to His surgical precision become dulled based on our own perceived maturity, hurts, failures, and even our successes. We begin to think we know what God will do next based on our personal experience, rather than leaving our hearts and minds open to the truth of Isaiah 55:8-9, “‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the Lord. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.’” Sure, our experiences can guide us in better identifying the marks of God’s hand and hearing His voice, but we should never allow them to speculate on what He intends to do or say.

When we remember that God sees us as His son or daughter, whom He always loves, accepts, and restores through Jesus, our response should always be one of awe, humility, and receptivity to whatever He wants. Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 18:3, that we are to be like children. I love how the ESV study Bible gives that statement some context: “The humility of a child consists of childlike trust, vulnerability, and the inability to advance his or her own cause apart from the help, direction, and resources of a parent.” Therefore, the mark of growth and maturity in a Christian is not what we would expect, or even naturally desire. We are not to seek the increase of our own wisdom, independence, or ruggedness. Rather, God wants us to become progressively more dependent on Him… for everything. He doesn’t even want us to see or evaluate situations, people, or things around us from our own point of view. He wants us to begin each day and approach every moment with His truth as our point of reference.

Not to say that any of this is easy, of course. But thankfully that’s where God’s promises, like Lamentations 3:22-23 come in, assuring us that for each new day, He will be there immersed with us in the trials of life. “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” When you get up in the morning and face a day filled with daunting challenges, you may look in the mirror and see a face weary with frustration or disappointment, but God sees you as you can be under His wing and filled with His strength. While you and I are certainly a work in progress, God can see the finished masterpiece He is forming His child to be over time. So next time you find yourself covered with the suffocating dust and remnants of life’s endless construction projects, and you’re either frustrated with yourself, those around you, or both, Jesus beckons you to take a moment and look for Him drawing close right beside you. The clean-up process may seem overwhelming, but with His tender hand guiding your work, you’ll be restored and captivatingly fragrant like star jasmine blossoming in the afternoon sun.

What do you think of today's message? Comment and share your thoughts below! And if God brought someone to mind as you read or listened, please encourage them by sharing this post today!

Five-Day Devotional Guide for Further Reflection and Daily Spiritual Journaling
The questions and readings below can be used for a single-day study or your daily quiet time throughout the week. Before you begin reading the passage for each day, spend some time asking God to open your heart to His truth and hearing His voice.
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Day 1 - Part of learning to believe the truth of how God sees you is grasping how much He loves you and the ramifications of that kind of love. Read Ephesians 3:14-19 in several different versions of the Bible and spend time in prayer asking God to whisper to your soul of how much He loves you. Ask Him to reveal any corners of your heart or mind that you haven’t surrendered to His love. Write down what comes to mind and commit it to prayer this week.
Day 2 - Throughout the Bible God promises to protect us, guide us, and be our shield in the storms of life. But that doesn’t mean the trials won’t come. When they do, He will walk through the suffering with us, drawing us closer than we we’ve ever been. Take a moment to listen to this worship song (Another in the Fire by Hillsong) and ask the Holy Spirit to give you courage to step out on faith before you feel His presence. If we step forward, He’ll be there to meet us. If you have time, read Daniel 3 and how God showed up to walk in the fire with His beloved ones.
Day 3 - Read 1 Peter 2:9 several times. What does it mean to you to hear that you are royalty? How should this guide your daily habits, perspectives, and behaviors? Spend time in prayer and ask God to reveal any ways in which you might not be seeing the truth of this verse in your life.
Day 4 - Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 several times. Prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to encourage you and convict you in any ways that you have not seen or cared for your body as His temple.   
Day 5 -  Read2 Corinthians 1:3-4. God calls us to comfort each other through the difficulties of life. We are supposed to get down in the dust and debris of life with each other. If you’re going through a hard time right now, find someone to share that with and ask them to pray with you regularly until the trial passes. If you’re in a good place, then ask God to put people in your path who need support and prayer. And if a name is coming to your mind right now, then take a moment and pray for that person right now. Maybe share this podcast or blog with them as an encouragement.

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