Sound of Surviving Blog

Have you ever looked at someone who you love dearly, and thought to yourself, “I wish they could only see themselves how I see them?” I often wish my family members could see themselves how I see them, beautiful and brave and kind and so loved. I wish they could see how brilliant they are, how incredible they are.

I think that this is probably what God wishes, too, for all of us, that we would see ourselves the way he views us. When we look at ourselves, we often look only at what is on the surface, perceiving our worth, our value, only based on what we see when we look in the mirror. But true beauty doesn’t run only skin deep; it runs in through our hearts and our souls, in who we are inside. God sees who he created us to be. He sees the beauty beyond the scars, the creative mind beyond the hurt, and the love behind the tears. God sees us, not as the world does, on a surface level, but in a way only our creator and savior could. He sees us not for our wrongdoings and our shortcomings, but in his own image. God sees the unmistakable beauty and loveliness in our brokenness. In 1 Samuel 16:7, God says to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, the Lord looks on the heart.” To God, we are beautiful, and strong, and perfect. If only we looked below the surface, we would see ourselves as God sees us, fearfully and wonderfully made, lovely,  priceless.