When God Sees You
We may not like to admit it, but we often don’t see ourselves accurately. Our view of ourselves is not based on reality. Many times even others’ view of us is not based on reality. But God’s view of us is always based on truth. When God sees us, He sees us exactly as we are. We can’t hide anything from him. How we perceive our own lives and how other people perceive us is never as clear or as accurate as God’s view of us.
So when God sees you, what does He see? You may be surprised at the answer. If His view of you is more accurate, more truthful, and clearer than your own view of yourself, then wouldn’t you want to know what God sees when He sees you? God’s view may be very different from your view of yourself. But when you hear and understand how God sees you, your life will never be the same.
Let’s take a look at a man who was surprised by what God saw in him. From his story we will understand how God views all of us. Let’s begin by reading in Judges 6:12-16 (New International Reader’s Version).
12 The angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon. He said, “Mighty warrior, the Lord is with you.”
13 “But sir,” Gideon replied, “you say the Lord is with us. Then why has all of this happened to us? Where are all of the wonderful things he has done? Our parents told us about them. They said, ‘Didn’t the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has deserted us. He has handed us over to Midian.”
14 The Lord turned to Gideon. He said to him, “You are strong. Go and save Israel from the power of Midian. I am sending you.”
15 “But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I possibly save Israel? My family group is the weakest in the tribe of Manasseh. And I’m the least important member of my family.”
16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you. So you will strike down the men of Midian all at one time.”
When God appeared to Gideon, the nation of Israel was oppressed. The Midianites had taken over and had destroyed many things. Because of the oppression from Midian Gideon was hiding from the enemy. He certainly did not appear to be a mighty warrior – not to himself, and not to others. So when the angel of the Lord called him a mighty warrior, Gideon argued with the angel.
I’m sure that many of us would react the same way as Gideon did if an angel told us what he told Gideon. But no matter who you are, or what is troubling you, the first thing you need to know is this:
1. When God sees you, He sees a warrior (verse 12)
God’s vision for your life is that you will do spiritual battle. He has called you and equipped you to wage war! This may surprise you. You may look around and say, “Who me? I’m not a warrior!” That’s just what Gideon did. He thought to himself, “I’m hiding in a winepress threshing wheat!” But the fact that he was not fighting did not change the fact that God saw him as a warrior. And so it is with all of us. God calls us the way He sees us. He sees us through the eyes of faith. He sees us through the eyes of possibility. He sees with supernatural eyes.
This is what the Bible says in Romans 4:17: “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” And God sees us as warriors. Listen to what Paul told the church at Ephesus. At the end of his epistle, he said this in Ephesians 6:10-12:
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” (New Living Translation).
Paul’s last word – the one he wanted the church to remember – was that we are in a battle. We need to put on the armor of God. God has given us the strength: now we need to exercise ourselves and use the weapons God has given us.
Friends, whether you like it or not, you are in a battle against satan. If you are a Christian, you are at war against the devil. You may think, “Oh NO! I don’t want to fight the devil. I’m too weak.” But the great news is – you have God’s power available to you. You have the name of Jesus – the name at which every knee must bow. You have the Word of God – the same word that Jesus used to overcome satan when He was tempted. You have the Holy Spirit – the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead! You have the power of prayer – the power to call down angels and drive out devils. Hallelujah! You’ve got the victory of Jesus.
I was praying one time. “Lord,” I said, “please bind the devil and stop him from attacking me.” And you know what the Lord said to me? “You bind the devil. I’ve given you the authority and I’ve told you to do it!”
You know what Gideon’s real problem was? He was waiting for God to do something that God wanted Gideon to do. See in verse 13 – Gideon is complaining:
“Lord, if you’re with us, why don’t you deliver us? Why don’t you help us?” And you know what God says back to Gideon? Go and do it yourself! That may sound strange, but the fact is God said, “I’ve already given you the power. I’ve equipped you. Go and possess the victory.”
Now friends that is exactly what we need to do today. Many of us are standing around complaining. We’re saying to the Lord, “Why don’t you help me? Why don’t you deliver me?” And the Lord says, “I’ve already given you everything you need to do battle. The victory is yours. Go and claim it in my name!”
Listen to what the Word of God tells us about our victory:
- In Romans 8:37 the Bible says we are more than conquerors.
- In Luke 10:19, Jesus said, “I’ve given you power to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
- In James 4:7 the Bible says submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
- In 2 Corinthians 2:14 the Bible says God leads us in triumph through Christ.
Rise up in victory! It’s time to tell the devil enough is enough. It’s time to claim our rights through the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t know what you see when you see yourself. I don’t know what others see when they see you. I don’t know what the devil sees when he looks at you. But I know what God sees! When God sees you, He sees a warrior.
But that’s not all – there’s more!
2. When God sees you, He sees a worshipper (Judges 6:21)
God’s vision for your life is that you will encounter His presence. Let’s go back to our text. Gideon responds to God’s vision of him as a warrior by seeking a Divine encounter.
Judges 6:17-24 (New International Reader’s Version)
17 Gideon replied, “If you are pleased with me, give me a special sign. Then I’ll know that it’s really you talking to me. 18 Please don’t go away until I come back. I’ll bring my offering and set it down in front of you.”
The Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”
19 Gideon went and prepared a young goat. From more than half a bushel of flour he made bread without using yeast. He put the meat in a basket. In a pot he put soup that was made from the meat. Then he brought all of it and offered it to the Lord under the oak tree.
20 The angel of God spoke to Gideon. He said, “Take the meat and the bread. Place them on this rock. Then pour out the soup.” So Gideon did it.
21 The angel of the Lord had a wooden staff in his hand. With the tip of his staff he touched the meat and the bread. Fire blazed out of the rock. It burned up the meat and the bread. Then the angel of the Lord disappeared.
22 Gideon realized it was the angel of the Lord. He cried out, “Lord and King, I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
23 But the Lord said to him, “May peace be with you! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
24 So Gideon built an altar to honor the Lord there.
Gideon wasn’t a worshipper when the story begins. But something happened to him – he encountered the presence of the Lord. Now Gideon knew something. He knew that if God was really the one speaking to him there was going to have to be a demonstration. There would have to be an encounter with the presence of the Lord. And the Bible says God waited for him. God wanted an encounter as well.
Friends, so many people today are seeking a touch from God. But you may not know God is also longing and desiring that we touch Him. He is also hungry for us to be in His presence.
Listen to Jesus’ words in John 4:23-24:
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
God is seeking worshippers. God is looking for people who will turn their hearts to Him. God’s eyes are running to and fro throughout the whole earth. And anywhere that He finds hearts that are open to Him, He comes to meet that open heart.
This is what happened with Gideon. God searched the whole of Israel. He was looking for a warrior – but He was also looking for a worshipper. God didn’t just want a brave man. He wanted a brave man who would depend on the Lord’s strength. He wanted a man who would not fight in his own strength, but fight by yielding to God and trusting God and worshipping God. And God looked at Gideon’s heart and said, “I believe there is a man who will worship me. I believe that is a man who will honor me. I believe that is a man who will build an altar for me.”
If only today we would turn our whole hearts to God, He will surely come to meet us. We must want God! We must want His presence! We must want to meet with Him! We must want Him to look at us and say, “There’s someone who will worship ME!”
For any time we turn to God in worship – any time we come before Him to offer a sacrifice and build an altar – any time we bow our hearts before Him – we can meet Him face to face.
2 Corinthians 3:16-18 tells us this truth: “Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.” (The Message)
When God sees you, He sees His bride – the Bride of Christ. When God sees you, He sees your value. He sees how you will worship Him. He paid the ultimate price for you, that you would become His beloved. His vision for you has never changed. No matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been, when God sees you He sees a worshipper.
But when you worship, there’s something wonderful that happens. You not only meet with God, you become like Him. That’s why when God sees you, He sees a miracle-worker.
3. When God sees you, He sees a miracle-worker (Judges 7:15)
God’s vision for your life is that you will move in the supernatural realm. You see, you can’t meet with God and stay the same. You can’t encounter God and leave the same as you came. You’ve got to be different! Once Gideon came into the presence of the supernatural, he was totally changed. He got up from that altar and went wild. He was a man on a mission. He tore down the altar of Baal. He gathered an army together. He camped around the enemy and prepared to attack. And when he went to spy on the enemy, this is what happened:
Judges 7:13-15 (New International Reader’s Version)
13 Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend about his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came rolling into the camp of Midian. It hit a tent with great force. The tent turned over and fell down flat.”
14 His friend replied, “That can only be the sword of Gideon, the son of Joash. Gideon is from Israel. God has handed the Midianites over to him. He has given him the whole camp.”
15 Gideon heard the man explain what the dream meant. Then Gideon worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel. He called out, “Get up! The Lord has handed the Midianites over to you.”
Gideon became a miracle-worker! He started to move in the supernatural. In his own power, he could never have conquered the enemy. But he started moving in the supernatural and miracles started happening.
This is God’s vision for your life, too. We are making a big mistake today when we look to men of God to perform miracles. God did not intend for only big men of God to perform miracles! He planned that all His people would be miracle workers. Listen to Mark 16:17-20:
“And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.”
Jesus said it, the disciples believed it, and that settled it!
Friend, when God sees you He sees a miracle worker! You’ve got the power of the Holy Spirit in you. The same anointing that abided in Jesus abides in you. The same anointing that abided in Paul abides in you. The anointing in us is Jesus! The word “Christ” means “anointed one”. When the anointed one lives in you, His anointing lives in you. It’s the anointing of Jesus.
With His power and presence, you are a miracle worker. What does God see when God sees you?
When God sees you – He sees a warrior.
When God sees you – He sees a worshipper.
When God sees you – He sees a miracle worker.