Guest Blog Lisa Jean Smith
God Sees You
Are you measuring your value by the world's scales? I think we’d all agree that society's overwhelming desire to grant approval affects and infects individuals, making them soul-sick.
Value plays such an intricate role in the composite of our human makeup. Within the heart of humankind, there is a longing to be validated that we are enough. “The Who” we look to for validation can change the course of our lives. My ugly truth is that I allowed the world to become my who. The chase for approval became relentless, putting my soul in grave danger.
A worldly solution cannot fix a spiritual problem.
My favorite getaway is Port Aransas, a quaint town nestled on the Texas coastline. Each time I go, I rise early in the morning so I can capture the beauty of the sunrise. As I enjoy a lovely stroll, I pause occasionally to pick up a treasured shell while bypassing the small and broken ones.
As I continue along the stretch of sand, I see a beautiful Portuguese Man O' War. It appeared alive but was so deeply embedded in the sand that it could not find its way back into the water. I wanted to help it, but I chose to bypass it because of its toxicity.
A few minutes later, something triggered a heart chord; I found myself relating to the perspective I had formulated toward various shells and jellyfish. I, too, had felt bypassed, broken, insignificant, and immobilized by life’s disappointments.
Broken but not bypassed.
I chased hard after the things the world offered to appease my soul, but it broke me and depleted me spiritually and emotionally. My hope and dependency were misplaced on unqualified individuals to provide me with love that would plug the God-sized hole in my heart.
In John 5, a paralyzed man fully knew the pain of being bypassed. When it began to stir, he felt isolated and alone, with no one to help him into the water. Like most of us, his expectations were placed on a person to help him, but he needed a Savior.
Jesus is passing by.
For many years I sat with my head stuck in the sand feeling sorry for myself until I was reminded of God’s love for me. It caused me to shift my gaze from man to Christ, and as I did his immeasurable grace swept over my soul. It was in his divine presence that he changed and healed me. I no longer felt unseen or unheard, and at last I had found what I was longing for.
Look up, my friend, Jesus is passing by and he sees you. He’s offering healing for your pain. Love for your emptiness. John 5:7,9 (AMP) “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up…Jesus said to him, Rise, take up your bed and walk. And immediately the man was made well…”
Pause and Ponder Your Worth
Consider your value through God’s eyes only. His love brought and bought you back from the arms of sin and the brokenness of this world that encapsulated you. The magnitude of the priceless gift of his son, Jesus, should forever validate his extravagant love for you. Romans 8:32 (TPT): “For God has proved his love by giving us his greatest treasure, the gift of his Son. And since God freely offered him up as the sacrifice for us all, he certainly won’t withhold from us anything else he has to give.”
Remember, God sees and hears you. 2 Samuel 22:7 (MSG) “A hostile world! I called to God, to my God I cried out. From his palace, he heard me call; my cry brought me right into his presence— a private audience!”
Trust him to heal and restore you. 2 Samuel 22:21;25 (MSG) “God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”
You can find yourself searching for your value and worth in life. Whether you’re married, single, rich, poor, educated, or not, you’ve probably struggled with defining your significance and value at some point. If not appropriately addressed, you can be swept away in unhealthy ways to express your worth. Lisa found herself in this predicament; instead of seeing her value through God’s eyes, she looked for it in the arms of the world. Deception quickly obliges her with destructive solutions to her soul and well-being. She learned very quickly that twisted truth has such curb appeal until the poison affects its victim.
Lisa invites you on a self-discovery journey to embrace your worth and value through the eyes of God. She shares some very vulnerable stories of her past, intertwined with powerful biblical examples from the word of God to exhibit the power of God’s transformative love. Lisa’s desire is for you to take away some important truths and tools from this book:
It’s time to release the shame of your ugly truth and past. God wants to bring healing and restoration to the heartbreak and pain you’ve gone through.
Learn how to uncover and recover from the sting of deception.
Fully encounter the healing power that comes from being seen and known by God.
Discover some powerful ways to deal with the disarrayed closet of your mind. It’s time to address the thoughts of fear, rejection, grief, anxiety, despair, and comparison that are trying to wreak havoc on you and your future.
Understand that God wants to be in a relationship with you; He desires your presence and has entered into a betrothal agreement to show you his faithfulness.
Consider what it would look like for you to get out of the rut you’ve been stuck in. God is calling you to move forward into a beautiful future filled with promise and possibility.
Comprehend the value you play in God’s love story to mankind. Perhaps he has chosen you for such a time as this.
Be resolute in knowing that each day, his love is chasing after you.
“O God and Father, I repent of my sinful preoccupation with visible things. The world has been too much with me. Thou hast been here, and I knew it not. I have been blind to Thy Presence. Open my eyes that I may behold Thee in and around me. For Christ’s sake, Amen.” ~A.W. Tower
Join April and Lisa Smith for an incredible evening on Tuesday at 6:30 pm Mountian on the Beacon of Light of Podcast. Join us on FACEBOOK and YOUTUBE.
