How God Sees You
How do people see you? I suspect that some people have a positive view of you, and perhaps some others…not so much. I also suspect that you feel drawn to those who have a positive, accepting view of you, and that you feel repelled from those who have a more negative view of you. I’ve experienced this.
I grew up as an only child in a loving family. I was showered with attention and praise and hugs. My parents, and especially my grandparents, made me feel as though I was the best thing since sliced bread! And perhaps due to the time I spent with my parents and grandparents, I was quite mature for my age and could converse with adults comfortably. Consequently, most adults loved me too!
When it came to my peers, on the other hand, I did not understand them and they did not understand me. I consistently felt out of place in settings with kids my age, and I would go to great lengths to avoid such settings. I did not want to go to children’s Sunday school or children’s church, and I certainly did not want to sit at the “kids’ table” during meals with others. Why? Because I liked how the adults saw me, but I did not like how my peers saw me. And thus my confidence fluctuated based on through whom’s eyes I saw myself. I can attest to the danger of constantly concerning ourselves with how people see us.
But people aren’t the only ones who see us. God sees us too. He sees us through His perfect, heavenly perspective. And every season, every day, every moment of our lives, we get to decide whose perspective of us we will value more—people’s or God’s. Valuing people’s perspectives over God’s leads us only to bondage and heartbreak. Valuing God’s view of us over people’s views leads us to freedom and to becoming the best versions of ourselves. For an example of this truth, let’s explore the story of my “name twin” from the Bible, Leah.
We meet Leah in Genesis 29. She was the oldest daughter of a man named Laban, and she had a younger sister named Rachel. The Scripture informs us that Leah had weak eyes, but that Rachel was beautiful. For years, I thought the description of Leah meant she was unattractive. After doing some research, though, I learned that the Hebrew word translated as “weak,” means “soft,” “tender,” or “delicate.” Regardless of the different translations, though, it is clear which sister Laban’s nephew Jacob wanted. Indeed, Jacob agreed to work seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage. That man was serious about his feelings for Rachel!
After those seven years passed, Leah experienced something that had to be deeply hurtful. Her own father tricked Jacob into marrying her instead of Rachel. Think about that for a moment. Think about how that had to make her feel. What does it say about her relationship with her father? What does it say about the value her father placed on her? It doesn’t appear Leah’s father saw her in a positive way, if he thought deception was the only way to get her married.
As a result of her father’s actions, Leah moved from his household to Jacob’s household. And her new husband’s view of her was not positive either. When the sun rose the morning after the wedding feast, Jacob realized that he had married and slept with Leah instead of Rachel. (A veil, a long feast, and alcoholic beverages were involved!) He was surprised and upset that Laban had deceived him, and he made it very clear that he was not pleased. So the messages to Leah from her father and her new husband were clear:
You’re not good enough.
You’re not worthy of love.
Have you ever felt that way? Like you’re not good enough? Like you’re not worthy of love? Thankfully, that wasn’t the end of Leah’s story, and it doesn’t have to be the end of yours either.
Genesis 29:31 tell us something incredible: The LORD saw Leah. We need to stop right there for a moment…
The LORD God Almighty in Heaven saw Leah.
And He sees you and me too.
How would our reactions to people’s rejection of us change if we really believed that God sees us?
The text tells us God saw that Leah was unloved, so He blessed her to conceive and birth sons. This was a big deal at that time, because producing male heirs was considered the most valuable contributions women could make. And based on the names of Leah’s sons, we can see her progression from (1) valuing a man’s view of her over God’s view of her, to (2) valuing God’s view of her over a man’s view of her. Here are the names of Leah’s sons and her reasoning behind them:
Reuben- “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.”
Simeon- “Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, he gave me this one too.”
Levi- “Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.”
Judah- “This time I will praise the Lord.”
After Judah, the Scripture says that Leah stopped having children.
You see, Leah tried to perform until Jacob saw her as worthy of love, but it did not work. Birthing three sons did not earn his love, so after her fourth son, Judah, she turned her full attention to the Lord. She could stop trying to perform for acceptance once she rested in God’s abundant love and concern for her.
The same is true for you and me. Have you been trying to perform to earn people's love and acceptance?
Why do you work so hard?
Why do you buy the things you buy?
Why do you post what you post on social media?
Is it to prove to people that you are significant?
Preoccupation with how others view us will lead us to a never-ending roller coaster ride of performance, competition, and comparison. But when we determine to view ourselves through God’s eyes, we can stop trying to perform for acceptance. We can find rest. We can develop into the people He created us to be.
Our friend Leah embodied that truth for a season. But unfortunately, she tried a few more times to earn Jacob’s love through having children. She ended up birthing six sons and a daughter for him. I don’t know if Jacob ever started loving Leah. But I do know that God never stopped loving her. If only she could have rested in how God saw her. If I could go back in time and write her a letter, here’s what I would say:
_______________________________
Dear Leah,
I know that your culture and even your own father and husband have made you feel as though you’re not good enough. They have compared you to your physically attractive sister and made you feel as though you just don’t measure up. But God has seen you and valued you every single day of your life.
You’ve been birthing sons in order to earn the love of your husband. But God has a much greater purpose for you and your boys. Most of your sons will one day make up the tribes of Israel—the nation God will use to demonstrate His relentless love to the rest of the world. God wants the world to know about His love and who He is, because He desires to save the world from sin and death. And to do so, He will one day come down to earth in human form as Jesus. This Jesus will be born to descendants from one of those tribes of Israel. And can you guess which tribe it will be? Judah. Yep that’s right, the tribe of your son for whom you praised God, Judah.
Do you realize the significance of this truth, Leah?! The Savior of the world will be born through your lineage! God has allowed you to play a role in His master plan of salvation and redemption for the world! I do not intend to minimize your valid hurt of being rejected and unloved by men. But I encourage you to magnify the joy of being accepted and loved by God.
Your Name Twin,
Leah
_______________________________
Too bad Leah didn’t get to be encouraged by those words. But I pray that you and I will be! Maybe the way other people have seen us has not been too great. But people’s opinions of us cannot stop the great plans God has for our lives….unless we let them. Leah spent most of her life feeling unloved by people, but all along, God planned to include her in His plan to save the world. Can you even imagine what great plans He has for you and me?
How people see us should pale in comparison to how God sees us. An important question for us to answer, then, is this: How does God see us? Well, for starters, He sees us as…
-His Children (2 Corinthians 6:18)
-Chosen (1 Thessalonians 1:4)
-Forgiven (Ephesians 1:7)
-Changed into His image (2 Corinthians 3:18)
-New creations (2 Corinthians 9:17)
-Blessed (Galatians 3:9)
-Above and not beneath (Deuteronomy 28:13)
-Victorious (Revelations 12:11)
-Free (John 8:31)
-Fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14)
-And SO much more! (Read the Bible!)
Let’s resolve today—and for the rest of our lives—to put people’s opinions in their proper place. Let’s value how God sees us above all others, including ourselves.
Do not let anyone make you feel like trash when God sees you as treasure.
Your sister-friend,
Leah
