Daily Devotional

Are any J. Beebs fans in the house? I'm not one myself. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of any secular artists really but there are some lyrics that have good messages every now and then. A particular hit song by Justin Bieber called "Intentions" has lyrics that say, "Picture perfect, you don't need a filter." Then in another line, he says, "Already passed, you don't need any approval."  Simply taking this at face value, lines like this show a pretty strong message for our self-image, which should go way beyond just the way that we look. It should go all the way to how we see ourselves entirely. Yet typically how we see ourselves has much more to do with what we see in the mirror, than what we can't see in the mirror.  And while we’d all love to have a powerful self-image, odds are if you're anything like me, you've struggled at times with being who God has truly made you to be. The question we all should regularly ask ourselves is, “Do I see myself as God sees me?” Or, “Do I even know what God sees when He looks at me?

The first thing that we must understand is God created us with intricate detail. He cares deeply about us because He put us together! The Bible tells us in Psalm 139:13–14b, “For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” And when I read verses like this or the theme verse I think to myself, “Wouldn't it be cool to have a mirror that showed us our hearts instead of showing us our heads or our hands?” We focus on the “head” mirror because we care so much about what the world or other people have to say about our appearance. Yet if we were focused on a “heart” mirror, we would start to get into what the Lord truly cares about. God is more interested in our hearts than in our appearance.

Culture points to our identity and image as to how we dress, how we do our makeup, how we cut our hair, the shape of our bodies, etc. These superficial things hold so much power over people. I remember for a long time, I fought tooth and nail trying not to be overly focused on how I looked or what other people thought of me. I struggled all throughout elementary school, being one of the only black kids in my friend group. I struggled in high school trying to figure out which crowd of folks I was going to fit into. And I'd be lying if I said that I didn't still think about it from time to time today anytime I walk into a room where people don't "look" like me. But newsflash: God does not care! He cares about the heart. Instead of pursuing a perfect body image, a perfect wardrobe, or a perfect look aesthetically, we are to concern ourselves with having hearts that love the Lord! I'm sure you've looked in the mirror several times over the past week, yet I wonder how many times you've looked at the mirror of your heart?

When we focus more on the external image we carry, we miss out on what God truly cares about; our hearts.  The world may love to dictate our worth by our image but why not take a stand and be confident in our true identity, our heart of faith in Jesus. May we be willing to reject what the world has to say about us based on what they see and claim our spiritual identity in Christ based on what is in our hearts.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.