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Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes
January 2, 2025 · 53 min
Based on June Hunt’s 31-day interactive devotional, Haley and Dustin discuss the concept of seeing yourself through God’s eyes. This is a life-changing concept and spiritual discipline that can help you embrace your identity in Christ, correct underlying negative thoughts, and grow in your walk with the Lord.
Listen now and don’t miss the link below for the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional.
Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit.
So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything.
Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart.
Listen in
(07:43) Identity in Christ for Transformation
(14:18) Embracing God's Love and Overcoming Negativity
(29:56) Forgiveness and Changing Perspectives
(40:22) Empowering Devotional Small Group Conversations
(50:06) Prayer for Self-Reflection and Renewal
--------------
Helpful links and resources
Get the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional here: https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/products/seeing-yourself-through-gods-eyes
Connect with us on social!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart
Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/
Learn more about Hope Talks and submit a question for Haley and Dustin: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/podcast
Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night
God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/
Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/donation/givehope/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=notes&utm_campaign=hopetalks
--------------
Bible verses mentioned in this episode
Psalm 145:8 – “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Isaiah 43:4 – “You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”
Isaiah 41:9 – “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you.”
Matthew 3:16-17 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
John 13:23 – “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” (See also: John 21:7 and John 21:20 for the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved”)
Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
Romans 15:7 – “Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory”
Ephesians 1:4 – “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes”
1 Thessalonians 1:4 – “God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people”
1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Series Hope Talks January 2, 2025 · 53 min · Hope Talks
Based on June Hunt’s 31-day interactive devotional, Haley and Dustin discuss the concept of seeing yourself through God’s eyes. This is a life-changing concept and spiritual discipline that can help you embrace your identity in Christ, correct underlying negative thoughts, and grow in your walk with the Lord. Listen now and don’t miss the link below for the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional. Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit. So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything. Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart. Listen in (07:43) Identity in Christ for Transformation (14:18) Embracing God's Love and Overcoming Negativity (29:56) Forgiveness and Changing Perspectives (40:22) Empowering Devotional Small Group Conversations (50:06) Prayer for Self-Reflection and Renewal -------------- Helpful links and resources Get the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional here: https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/products/seeing-yourself-through-gods-eyes Connect with us on social! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/ Learn more about Hope Talks and submit a question for Haley and Dustin: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/podcast Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/ Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/donation/givehope/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=notes&utm_campaign=hopetalks -------------- Bible verses mentioned in this episode Psalm 145:8 – “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Isaiah 43:4 – “You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.” Isaiah 41:9 – “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you.” Matthew 3:16-17 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” John 13:23 – “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” (See also: John 21:7 and John 21:20 for the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved”) Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 15:7 – “Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory” Ephesians 1:4 – “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes” 1 Thessalonians 1:4 – “God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people” 1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” ...more Show the full description Show less Based on June Hunt’s 31-day interactive devotional, Haley and Dustin discuss the concept of seeing yourself through God’s eyes. This is a life-changing concept and spiritual discipline that can help you embrace your identity in Christ, correct underlying negative thoughts, and grow in your walk with the Lord.
Listen now and don’t miss the link below for the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional.
Subscribe to the podcast and tune in each week as Haley and Dustin share with you what the Bible says about real-life issues with compassion, warmth, and wit.
So you have every reason for hope, for every challenge in life. Because hope means everything.
Hope Talks is a podcast of the ministry of Hope for the Heart.
Listen in
(07:43) Identity in Christ for Transformation
(14:18) Embracing God's Love and Overcoming Negativity
(29:56) Forgiveness and Changing Perspectives
(40:22) Empowering Devotional Small Group Conversations
(50:06) Prayer for Self-Reflection and Renewal
--------------
Helpful links and resources
Get the Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes devotional here: https://june-hunt.myshopify.com/products/seeing-yourself-through-gods-eyes
Connect with us on social!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hopefortheheart
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopefortheheart
Learn more about the ministry and resources of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/
Learn more about Hope Talks and submit a question for Haley and Dustin: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/podcast
Want to talk with June Hunt on Hope in the Night about a difficult life issue? Schedule a time here: https://resource.hopefortheheart.org/talk-with-june-hope-in-the-night
God’s plan for you: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/gods-plan-for-you/
Give to the ministry of Hope for the Heart: https://www.hopefortheheart.org/donation/givehope/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=notes&utm_campaign=hopetalks
--------------
Bible verses mentioned in this episode
Psalm 145:8 – “The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Isaiah 43:4 – “You are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you.”
Isaiah 41:9 – “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called you. I said, ‘You are my servant’ I have chosen you and have not rejected you.”
Matthew 3:16-17 – “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
John 13:23 – “One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” (See also: John 21:7 and John 21:20 for the phrase “the disciple whom Jesus loved”)
Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
Romans 15:7 – “Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory”
Ephesians 1:4 – “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes”
1 Thessalonians 1:4 – “God loves you and has chosen you to be his own people”
1 John 3:1 – “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
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Hope for the Heart is a worldwide biblical counseling, coaching, and caregiving ministry founded by June Hunt in 1986. We’re passionate about helping people
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0:00 There's a way God sees me. And when I think through that, it's often different than how I see myself.0:08 Welcome to Hope Talks. We're your hosts. I'm Haley Scully along with Dustin Anderson, and we wanna give you every reason for hope for every challenge in life because hope means everything.0:22 Happy New Year.0:23 Happy New Year.0:24 Today, we are talking about the concept, devotional as well, a concept of seeing yourself through God's eyes. This is a devotional we have June and the team put together a while ago Mhmm.0:36 Years ago. But it's kinda 1 of these concepts that I think is foundational to a lot of our ministry, to a lot of our keys and resources.0:45 And Foundational to my soul.0:47 That's right. And as we yeah. Wanted to just ask upfront as we were praying, you had said that this is just your favorite topic, your favorite thing. So Mhmm. Why is seeing yourself through God's eyes such a favorite0:59 thing for you?1:00 You know, sometimes it's what's that saying about don't miss the forest for the trees or don't miss the trees for the forest 1 way or the other? Yeah. Seeing yourself through God's eyes, when we say1:11 those words, I think there's many of us that, especially those of us who are Christians or feel like we've been at church, we know some things, we'll say we need1:23 to see ourselves through God's eyes, which is ultimately understand our identity in Christ. Yep. Because scripture, if you peel back all the layers of that, God sees us through Jesus.
1:36 So Jesus is our filter. So seeing ourself through God's eyes means that he sees us through Christ. So when we say it though, it sounds like we kinda know that, we
1:47 understand that. So short story long, Dustin, let's just tell you why it's my favorite. When I first came to Hope for the Heart, was baptized as a little girl. I prayed the
1:59 prayer in the front seat of like a 19 81 cream colored Cadillac whatever. Wow. Yeah. I looked up at the stars and I asked Jesus into my heart. And so that started the
2:11 whole lesson of that. When I started at Hope for the Heart, I had been through seminary. I had gone to every church, you know, church camp every year growing up. I knew all the things. I had
2:23 been in church and in the word for a long, long time. Get through seminary, fast forward, I'm starting to see clients here at Hope for the Heart. And I start to walk through the very
2:34 practical pages of the devotional. You are precious. You are chosen. You are born again. It's actually I am are the the statements. I am
2:46 justified. I am forgiven. Yep. And I thought, I'm gonna help these ladies that I'm counseling. I'm gonna help them do this. You know? They need to know their identity in Christ. So let's start with seeing yourself
2:58 through God's eyes. And so I don't have a poker face. I'm not very good at faking it, honestly. And so I would work with these ladies in session, and then I would walk them out. And then
3:10 I would think, I don't believe anything that we just talked about.
3:14 Wow.
3:15 The way I kinda say it is, like, the Holy Spirit would be tapping me on the shoulder. Hey. How about you? Yeah. I'm in there counseling these ladies that you are precious, and God loves you, and you are chosen. Yeah. And
3:26 at that season in my life, I kind of in particular wasn't feeling that. So I'm gonna pause right here. Is there anything you wanna respond to in that so far
3:38 before I because you asked me a big question question because this is my favorite.
3:42 Yeah. A couple of things. Where can I start? 1, the devotional itself. Yeah. So that's a 31 day devotional. Yeah. And it just kinda walks through statements of your identity in Christ. So
3:53 each day is kind of like, I am loved by God. I am adopted.
3:57 Super sure. Super practical.
3:58 I forgiven. I am made new. I am washed. To me, it's almost like a spiritual discipline where it helps you understand your identity in Christ, what God says about you. It also
4:10 helps correct any just underlying lies.
4:15 Right.
4:15 You know, maybe false beliefs about yourself. And yeah, to me, it's just a great concept of really growing in your walk with Christ
4:26 Yeah.
4:26 Because you can make New Year's resolutions, but come December, maybe you've fulfilled come February
4:34 Yeah.
4:34 Maybe you fulfill, maybe you don't. You can read through the Bible in a year and still struggle with guilt and shame at the end of it. So I feel like seeing yourself through God's eyes is 1 of these concepts where it
4:45 really gets at the root of a lot of beliefs about ourselves. Yeah. So that's kind of the general concept of seeing yourself through God's eyes. But 1 of the things that came to mind when you said, just
4:57 growing up being baptized all of that, I thought of the story of Jesus's baptism when, I think it's in Matthew, comes out of the water and hears a voice from heaven that says, this is my son whom I love. With you, I
5:09 am well pleased. And I remember having a pastor years ago back in college who said who had said, when you kind of become a Christian, that's how God sees you. Mhmm. He looks at you and says, this
5:21 is my son whom I love with you. I'm well pleased. This is my daughter whom I love with you. I'm well pleased. So that was kind of like where I started first understanding that concept of like, there's a
5:33 way God sees me. And when I think through that, it's often different than how I see myself.
5:40 Should probably 9.9 percent of the time over here. Yeah.
5:42 And I should I would do well to think on how God sees me.
5:47 Yeah. Yeah. That's exactly it. But I think a lot of times we know those truths. Like you said, you can read scripture, the whole Bible, and you get to
5:58 the end and you still feel a guilt or a shame or you haven't had so we know these truths, But what I found is I wasn't living as if I knew those truths. I didn't have them in my heart.
6:11 I had it in my head, and a lot of the people that I was working with, they had it in their head. Like, yeah, I'm precious. I'm chosen. I'm adopted. Like, all the things that scripture tells us, all the truth is
6:23 in the tenets. But do I live as if I believe that? Yeah. So a lot of the ladies that I worked with when I first started counseling, you know, there would be certain struggles that they were experiencing
6:35 in their life. Maybe it was parenting or marriage or their job or they have all these things that maybe brings them to counseling.
6:42 Mhmm.
6:43 But kinda like you said, it's kinda like setting a New Year's resolution. Like, I want to do this. When a counsel lead comes in, they want to achieve something. They have a They wanna fix something. So it's like setting
6:55 a New Year's resolution. Right? So you set that resolution, I want this kind of change, but I realized if we change right now I used to say it was like
7:06 holes in a bucket. If there is a hole in the bucket, and you've got a bucket, if you will, Dustin, imagine holding a bucket, a life bucket, and your marriage, your parenting, your identity, maybe
7:18 employ all those things are different holes in the bucket, and sand is pouring out. Well, I can start to address with you. We can start to consider together what changes do you need to make in your marriage?
7:30 What changes do you need to make in your parenting? Like, we can start to address all of those issues, but if there's other holes still in the bucket, you're still losing ground. You're still sand is still
7:42 pouring out. And so when you start with understanding who we are in Christ, just like you said, how does God see me? If I am found in
7:54 Jesus, how does God see me? That gives us a new bucket. It replaces the bucket. So now, like you said, if we're getting ready to start New Year's
8:06 resolutions, now if I understand who I am, that I am chosen, I am precious, I am accepted, I am given the mind of Christ, I have been given work of my hands to do,
8:18 these short daily devotionals, if I really start to believe that, if I get a new bucket, then I am working in those different areas of my life
8:30 from the right foundation.
8:32 Right.
8:32 So that is why, to me, it is the most important concept If we're wanting to help people have hope, if we're wanting to help people really experience transformation in their life,
8:44 that first thing is whether you like it or not, and I didn't. I did not like it. Whether you like it or not, you gotta start understanding who God says you are and start practicing those muscles. So for me, when
8:56 I would walk out and I would feel the Holy Spirit being like, hey. You don't you don't believe that. You're not feeling that. Well, I would, don't be shocked, I would back talk. I would say Yeah.
9:08 What didn't you like about that?
9:09 Well, the chosen. I'm just I've talked about singleness. This was 14 years ago when I first started in all of this. And so I'll share things at different times, and I'm not gonna spend a lot of time
9:21 talking about how maybe I feel all different. In that moment, 1 of the ways that I would backtalk God, when him and his word and the scriptures that are found in here were telling me that I am
9:33 chosen and given me the understanding of how He sees me, I would say, I'm not chosen. I'm not married. Haven't been chosen. You haven't So I would list out all of my
9:45 definitions of what my expectations were to say I agree with I'm chosen. So as I would work through with clients and then as
9:57 I would start to work through in my own heart, I would realize this is a pivot point. This is a choice point for me. Either I continue to believe based on my definitions and my
10:08 expectations that I am not chosen and I lean in that direction, or I begin when I hit those moments and I am feeling rejected or I am feeling
10:20 forgotten or I am feeling left behind, whatever all of those things are, in those moments, that's when you apply, this is what God's word says. That's when I apply, this is what
10:32 God's word says. I am chosen. I changed my definitions of what it meant. I let him change my definitions of what being chosen meant, and I started leaning into
10:44 scripture. Now the thing that, to me, that is the application piece that so many of us never learned to practice. We didn't work those
10:56 muscles. So we said it with our head. I would say it to those ladies. We didn't know it in our heart. Seeing yourself through God's eyes, the very practical, it's so short every day, but it
11:08 is absolutely transformational because how do I begin to practice believing how God sees me? It completely changed my life. Very shortly after
11:19 that is when I started working in our international department and going and doing things that I had to wrench my gut to get
11:31 the courage to do and constantly had to say, I see myself as God sees me, not as all the other different eyes that maybe have rejected
11:43 me or all the other eyes who have mocked me or all the other people that didn't believe in me. So I get excited. I can hear my voice right in your voice. I know. I'm a little bit ramped.
11:54 Appreciate it.
11:55 Man, this is the 1 thing. If I could just sit down with everybody and look them in the eye, I would say, don't lean on your own understanding, but trust in
12:07 the Lord with all your heart Yeah. Because he will change everything if we will do this 1 thing.
12:13 Yeah. There's a lot there to respond to, but it reminds me as well so many times in, like, the small group recovery ministries that I've been involved in. It's yeah. It's that same story
12:25 of I know the gospel. I know Jesus forgives me. He died for me. Mhmm. I know that From
12:31 the grave he rose.
12:34 And, you know, I know the slate's been wiped clean and all this
12:37 stories.
12:38 But it's so many times it felt like most people were just like 5 questions away, really pointed questions from really getting at the root of what they think and admitting, I think God sees
12:49 me as just dirty, unclean. He's disappointed in me. So many people carry that. Mhmm. And some of that's, yeah, like our own you know, we failed to meet our own
13:01 expectations. We've had a rough past, and we've heard just constant negativity our whole lives, or we just carry those thoughts around in our head. So, like, I think it is a muscle that you have to work
13:13 out and practice and build and whatever because people carry so much of that. Just the weight of, I don't know, sin, negative thinking, just
13:25 to, like, to look them in the eye and say, yes, you are loved. Mhmm. Like, you are precious to God. You are forgiven. So many times, it's like, it's that whole thing about knowing it in your
13:36 head, but not believing it in your heart
13:39 kind
13:39 of thing, like but that's what I love about the devotional is it's short, it's practical, but there's also space on each 1 to kind of meditate on a scripture and then personalize it in
13:51 your own words. Right. Like, what does it mean for you specifically that you are chosen? What does it mean for you specifically that, you know, you are loved and adopted and precious and
14:03 made new? Like, that's the circumstances will be different for each They
14:07 will.
14:07 So it's a way, again, of correcting some of those negative thoughts or just flat out lies we believe
14:15 Yeah.
14:15 About ourselves. And, yeah, it is a choice too. So many times, it's like, I again, even being on this podcast, I've shared this before, just like, when I was asked to do this, it was like, I can think
14:27 of all the reasons not to, and why I'm a failure, and why I'm just gonna be terrible at it, and all this stuff. But then it's like, or am I gonna see myself through God's eyes
14:39 that he does love me, he has made me, he has gifted me, he has He
14:44 prepared you, Chris.
14:45 He has prepared me, he has done all these things in my life and listen to encouraging brothers and sisters around me who will reinforce that, or am I gonna just gonna walk in my own negativity?
14:55 Right. Like Be like, no.
14:57 Yeah. And I think we just deny ourselves so many opportunities and just so much life Yeah. Because we we just kind of carry that negativity instead of going into
15:09 God's word and going, you know what? He does say I'm forgiven. I am gonna walk in that. He does say I am precious. I am loved. Like, I am gonna meditate on that. Like, I was thinking about
15:21 it's always funny, but in John's gospel, a couple times he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Mhmm. And there's like jokes to be had about that because it's like, well, what are the other
15:33 disciples? Yeah. But to me, like, he's practicing that. I don't think he had that concept, maybe, you know, as we would say it. But to regularly refer to yourself as the 1 who Jesus loves, how
15:45 would that change you?
15:46 Yeah. I'm gonna give an uncomfortable confession.
15:49 K.
15:50 Mhmm. Now there have been times in my life where I very much knew that I had failed God. Yeah. That I did not do what I was supposed to do. And there were times that I felt like I
16:02 was experiencing consequences of that sin where I was wrong or, like, punishment. I was experiencing consequences, but I felt like I was experiencing punishment. And I
16:14 realized looking back, I was getting consequences from some of that sin. It wasn't him punishing me. It was me walking out the path that I had laid ahead of myself at that point. Right? So I've definitely
16:26 known that I have sinned, but I have never felt like God thought I was dirt. I have never had such a low estimation of myself. And I know a lot of people talk about that. You know?
16:38 Paul talked about that. Like, he's the cheap worst of the worsts. You know? And that's just not my story. Yeah. And a lot of people will say that, and then they're sometimes, like, looking around the room like, well, I
16:49 don't feel like God has hated me. I don't feel like God has thought I was dirt or worthless. Like, I've never struggled with my identity in that way. There are times probably that I
17:01 have struggled more with an entitlement than I have with a despair of feeling Yeah. Away from him. So I have seen
17:13 myself very negatively through other people's eyes. People in my life that rejected me, mocked me, ignored me, that helped kind of define
17:25 how I allowed others to treat me or how I expect others to treat me.
17:30 Yeah.
17:30 And that has been a repeated story in my life at times. And so with God, I would be like, why aren't you fixing this?
17:42 You know you love me. You know? Like, I am supposed to be yours. I'm supposed to be chosen. I'm supposed to be precious. So I would constantly at times, it wasn't
17:54 it wasn't so much that I didn't think God saw me that way. It was like, why aren't you taking care of me? Why aren't you having other people see me through your
18:05 eyes? Why aren't you healing some of this? So I don't know if the norm is that we're supposed to feel like God hates us and that we're
18:17 dirt because I just never have. I have known I was a sinner. And coming to know the Lord closer and closer, I realize how much I don't know
18:29 and how much I don't get and how much he has expanded that and how much he's healed me from living my life as a result of how other people have
18:41 seen me. I have joked, so I moved this weekend.
18:45 Yeah. You did.
18:46 News flash. I mean, I came in here on 2 wheels to get here today. Yeah. So I moved from apartment to apartment on the same floor, and I had people that offered to help me. I was like, no. I got it.
18:58 Dustin, I am telling you, there was 1 point that I was like, well, I'm just gonna have to lay down and die. I can't I can't get this done. But I realized, you know, we were
19:10 kind of joking as I came in. Part of my not seeing myself through God's eyes is feeling like when I need help, when I need that I just try to do
19:22 everything on my own so that I'm not a I can't ask for help. Yeah. I'm burden. And what I need is gonna be aggravating to everybody, and they're gonna be mad at me. And I need
19:33 to carry my couch myself because I can't ask for anything. So all of that to say, when we walk in our woundedness in those ways, when we allow
19:45 the eyes of other people to kind of dictate what we believe about ourselves, either overinflated or underinflated, and there have been definitely been both of those periods in my life, I just
19:57 haven't ever felt like dirt to him. I think probably a lot of that has to do with my own dad and Yeah. Mean, yeah. Lot of
20:06 comes from, yeah, just how we were raised if you had a good relationship with your parents, that's probably a Yeah. Usually a good sign that you can believe that God is for you, that God
20:18 loves you.
20:19 The thing is we can try and I mean, I'm a counselor and that's my background. We can try forever to sort through that
20:30 Yeah.
20:30 And to figure it out and to deal with each relationship or deal with each expectation or each resolution. We can try to fix all of those things. But
20:42 like I said, when we replace the bucket, if we focus more, not on all the different pieces that haven't lined up right for us to see ourselves as, but focus on how does God see me.
20:54 Yeah. Let that be what we study. Let that be what we do in our quiet time. Because all the counseling in the world is never gonna fix everything.
21:06 We're broken people in a broken world. So just choose wisely. Ask yourself, what is the heart of this resolution that I'm trying to set? Is it lose weight? Is it go
21:18 to the gym? Is it play games? I don't know, but what's the heart of it? And is it out of guilt or shame? Is it true?
21:27 It Out of a should.
21:29 Yeah. You know? So just getting to the heart of things and then really studying and practicing when you come to those moments, practice believing how
21:40 God sees you. And, I mean
21:45 No. I think it's good. And another just point to make, because I was thinking about this concept, is that it's seeing yourself through God's eyes. Like, it's
21:57 a way I mean, it's God. It's the king of the universe, you know. The creator. The 1 who knows everything about us. All the things we've done, we should have done, we haven't
22:09 done. And he's the 1 whose opinion matters the most. Like, you can be encouraged by a stranger or let down by a stranger for a momentary mishap.
22:20 Mhmm.
22:21 You know, that's 1 thing. And it's 1 thing for your spouse or your best friend to give you a compliment. Mhmm. It's another thing to receive something from someone in authority. But we're talking about
22:33 the God of the universe, your father. Just having that in mind, like, you're going through this, like, it's not just a Bible verse I'm reading that says I'm forgiven and I'm loved. Right. This is the word of God. It's
22:45 him.
22:46 Of Jesus.
22:47 Yeah.
22:48 It all hinges on Jesus. That is the big why. Because Jesus says, she is mine. When she's cranky, when she's
22:59 mouthy, when she's too much, when she needs to move and can't carry the couch by herself, when she she is mine. And every sin from the
23:11 past and every sin to come. Even though I'm getting real close to not sinning anymore, I feel like I'm right right on the cusp.
23:19 Right on the yeah.
23:20 Right there.
23:21 Level 99.
23:22 Level leveled up. Oh, mercy. But he says she is mine. And that's, you know, when we talk about seeing ourself through God's eyes, it's that first
23:34 step that we take in recognizing in order to do that well and right, we take in Jesus. Yeah. He's the reason.
23:44 He's the reason.
23:44 He was the reason for the season we just had. And what better relationship goals to have in the new year than to see yourself through God's eyes
23:56 through what Jesus did on the cross.
23:59 Yep. That's good.
24:00 That's a lot.
24:02 Okay. So we've talked through some of just, like, the concept and, like, the benefits of seeing yourself through God's eyes.
24:09 I kind of emphatically talked through that. So yeah. If anybody wants to go have coffee and talk about it more, I just I love talking about this concept. So yeah.
24:19 But 1 of the things I wanted to just help people with, we do have the devotional. I'll put the link in the description for the devotional app. But just as we're talking now, I think it'd be good just to have in
24:31 people's minds how to actually practically work this out. And so how do you see yourself through God's eyes? And so for me, I'd love to hear your how you've helped do it
24:43 with counselees and clients over the years. But for me, it's been 2 different ways. And so I used to have this, like, 10 page document. It was just literally
24:54 statements like this. I am loved with, like, 5 Bible verses on God's love, and then I am forgiven, couple of Bible verses on God's forgiveness. And I would just read through that every morning. Wow. And
25:06 just the joy and the peace that that brought was 1 thing. So it's just a lot of it is truly meditating on scripture and specifically meditating on statements of what God
25:18 says about you, about your identity in Christ. But another way that got really more into, like, how it works out in a person's life specifically has been, what a lot of our keys
25:30 do is kind of identifying lies and replacing it with truth.
25:33 Right.
25:34 And so in a bunch of our keys, we have kind of a a myth and a truth or a lie and a truth, whatever it is, or our perception versus God's perception. Right. And so it is identifying those
25:45 specific things. So for me, it would be like, I often feel like I'm a failure. Why is that? And then for me, I have to look back through and go, well, it's
25:57 because my childhood growing up, like, had to learn responsibility as a kid, you know, at like 6 years old. And so I have this level of like responsibility that I can't just let myself
26:09 I can't let anything go wrong. And if I do, I feel like a massive failure.
26:13 I wanna just take that out of you.
26:17 So then you just write down a statement, a recurring thought, maybe a lie you believe about yourself, but you you just know it's in your head every once in a while, or it's there a lot. Mhmm. So you write that out, and
26:28 then you put a biblical truth next to it that is the direct rebuttal, I guess, against that.
26:35 Perfect way to say And
26:36 then it puts scripture around it too.
26:39 So Right. Not just platitudes, not just sweet thoughts, but the word of God. What does the word say?
26:45 Yeah. And so for me, it's a couple of things. Like, might be a verse about forgiveness. There might be a verse about how God accepts me. There might be a verse about
26:57 even like Psalm 1 39, I'm fearfully and wonderfully made, like, just meditating on like, God has has made me, he's gifted me, he doesn't see me as a failure. Like, sometimes
27:09 it takes multiple different scriptures and ideas to kind of attack a thought. And so it's just going through that process, and then so that next time you
27:21 have that thought that comes up, you have scripture, you have truth to combat it with. Right. How has it kind of worked out when you've done it in counseling?
27:30 Well, 2 things I wanna share. I wanna talk a little bit about doing this as a group study, but first, kind of exactly what you're talking about. This is 1 of the beneficial times. If you
27:42 know the pain goes really deep, talk with a counselor. Get connect with somebody that you trust that can kind of go through that with you. And that's super important. But for
27:54 a lot of us, it's checking just some gut checks. So I love what you just said. Thinking back to where did that belief develop? It's a classic counseling question.
28:06 When do you first remember feeling that way? You know, what was happening? How old were you? So then you think about, okay, how did that belief develop? But then the next thing I ask people to kind of think through
28:17 is what actions did that belief generate in you? What actions for me trying to carry my own couch? How many times am I gonna say that in this 1 episode?Show more
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