Is it for HIM or for You?
Fill those seats up! Draw the crowd! Get the Hollywood Headshot! Show them that You are DOING Grrrrrrrrrreat things! Imitate the trends!
Get “The Look”! Use that bigger title! YOU are going places in God!
You? Alone? Or… are others quietly, faithfully, most likely sacrificially (behind the scenes) humbly helping to make it “happen” to please you?
Do they grovel as the “lesser” in order to feel valuable, wanted, useful, needed?
Do ANY of these behaviors or actions please or reflect the real, honest, “pure version” of bringing the glory to God?
Oh my friends! God sees “that,” He sees the “why” and the “how” we do things. Things for Him, and; things for us that “we say,” we are doing for Him.
As adults, it may be even more difficult to know if we are performing to fill the void of a deep need for validation or recognition, or grovel to show a false concept of “subservient honor and respect,” because we carry with us painful rejections from the past, and we seem to be addicted to and reliant on others to tell us how good we look or how wonderful we are when we do…. “things”.
Good or Bad “Things”.
Authentic or Forced “Things”.
The awful and woeful tragedy is this. The last person we ever seek an opinion from is the one we should have asked from the very beginning, before we start up the performance and groveling machines!
The ONE who IS -from the very beginning.
The ONE whose image and likeness we reflect.
(do we?)
The transparent questions we must always ask FIRST are:
❓How does God see me?
❓Does He know my Real, inner motives and drive?
❓Does He see me wrestle with looking for an easier, less self-exposing option to “get things done”?
IF those are our questions, we will find comfort and most likely, a somewhat painful honesty in his answer.
In Ephesians, we can read, “We are God’s handiwork”. We are his masterpiece.
So, Jesus says, “It’s my Father who glorifies me! HE makes me look “glorious”! He paints His light upon, over, in and through me!”
We as humans can attempt to paint or embellish our own portrait, but it will always come up short.
We can look at ourselves in the mirror, but it will never reflect the soul, human flesh and spirit of the unique person that God created!
Not if we look through the lens of our own ideas and concepts.
What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete — as complete as God’s knowledge of me. (1 Corinthians 13:12).
We can seek affirmation and attempt a more “regal” validation from others by what we wear or by what we succeed in doing, but we will never fully comprehend the mystery of who we are until we allow the great I AM to reflect, to beam, “radiate” His image and likeness upon us and into us.
And so, we pray…
Dearest LORD, help us to see ourselves as you see us, as your beloved handiwork, created in your image to do your work.
Let us never lose sight of our Father God’s favor working in our lives.
Let us walk with confidence today, knowing that we are valued, glorified and loved!
In Jesus RADIANT name alone because, He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance. (John 3:30)
Amen!
In His Shadow,
~ Mary Lindow ©
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” THE MESSENGER ” ~ Mary Lindow
www.marylindow.com
Global Prayer Rooms
Mary Lindow has a passion for encouraging others – all generations, careers or vocations to live expressing excellence through personal integrity, healthy accountability, and wise management of talents and skills. She’s a sought after keynote, inspirational, humorous speaker and teacher across the USA and internationally in Ministers & Spiritual leaders Conferences, and training seminars for various organizations.
Awesome. Thank you.