His View of Me

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Jeremiah 18:4 (New King James Version)

There are times when I so regret decisions I have made and things I have done. The worst of them is when I feel I have spoiled, corrupted, ruined, or injured God’s plans for me and hence His thoughts of me. In the spring of 2004, God placed me on a journey with Himself that continues to this day. The starting point of that journey was in realizing that His love was not dependent upon what I was doing. My perception that He was tolerating me more than loving me had to give way to the truth of His unconditional and unchanging love. It was a truth that flipped my Christian life upside down and forever changed my view of God.

Last night, God brought to light another truth that was just as profound and He used today’s verse to do it. While my view of God had been through a change, I needed to realize something about His view of me. I thought He viewed me as a marred vessel in His hands and that I would continue to be seen as such. I couldn’t see that I was anything but a disappointment to Him because of the failures that still weighed heavy on my mind and heart. I couldn’t get beyond the shame of the issues that arose from my own struggles with emotional dependency. It had a three-fold effect on me…how I viewed myself, how I felt others view me, and how I felt God viewed me. I felt I had let myself, others, and God down and the opinions that resulted from it would forever be my weight to carry. How far from the truth I was living!

What God so graciously showed me was that He views me as one whom He is remaking in a way that seems good to Him. He is presently forming me into another vessel which will be different from the former vessel. In His eyes, I am not ruined but rather in process of being changed. He is not finished yet but what changes have taken place so far are just a glimpse of what is yet to come.

Once again I am reminded of the words I first heard from author and speaker, Lisa Bevere. “My past does not define me or my future!” When God looks at me, He does not see the person I was a year or two ago. That person is gone as far as He is concerned and He wants it to be the same for me. My question needs to be, “Who am I now and who will I be in the future?” My past along with my sins have been buried in His sea of forgetfulness. May I no longer don their garments again.

Father, knowing Your view of me is changing the view I have of myself. The view I have of myself will change the way I think others view me. I rest in Your hands as a marred vessel no longer. Amen.

Heal the Wound - Point of Grace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g_dhYDQIdg

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