Tag: see

Seeing what God Sees in Others

Justin Hibbard

A friend of mine once told me about a time where God was teaching him to see people not merely as they appear but as God sees them.  One day, he was sitting at a table next to a young, attractive girl. Suddenly, his mind began to wander, and he began to entertain lustful thoughts about this young lady.  The Lord said to him, “Stop seeing her as an object of pleasure, and see her as I see her.”  It was easier to just keep daydreaming.

When the event was over, and she left the table, he noticed something horrifying.  This young woman had a horrendous limp, her back was hunched over, as though she had some crippling disease such as spina bifida.  Her entire body jolted with each step.  It was so severe that if we were to see her walking down the street, we wouldn’t notice her beautiful features.  We would only notice her deformity.  My friend admits that upon seeing this, he felt sick to his stomach.  The feelings of lust quickly turned to compassion.  “I’m so sorry,” he whispered to the Lord.  “Had I seen her from your eyes, I would have had compassion on her immediately.”

We have spent many weeks on this topic of intimacy with God.  We began by seeing God – meditating on the very person and presence of the Lord.  Then we turned our attention to how that relates to us.  We looked at deep theological principles such as the indwelling presence of God in our lives.  We talked about transforming our mind to not just perceive the physical world around us but the presence of I AM in the present moment.  Now, we take those principles and apply them to seeing what God sees in other people.

How often have we just looked right past people – at a stoplight, at work, at a cash register?  How often have we thought something ill of another person?  “I can’t stand that person because of ___.”  We can’t seem to get past our bias of the person, whether it’s their appearance, mannerisms, or tone.  Satan is a master at distraction.  He gets us to forget that people are image bearers of God and instead focus on that one little thing that annoys us.  Pretty soon, we have reduced a human being into that one tiny aspect.  Without even realizing it, that one little thought blows up into full bitterness… or on the other extreme – total lust.

Often times we struggle to see how God sees others because we have an improper or underdeveloped understanding of the way God sees us.  God’s love doesn’t depend on us being perfect, having perfect theology, having a beautiful appearance, or being free from quirkiness.  God loves me and you unconditionally.  When that becomes our life theology, we are better equipped to love others.

So, how do we see what God sees in others?  First, I think some of the same principles apply in regards to prayer and meditation.  We need to surrender our mind to the Lord.  “Jesus, show me where you are in this person’s life.  Show me how you see them.”  It may be helpful to bring certain verses to mind – “God so loved this person that He gave His one and only Son for them.”  One thing I like to do is to picture Jesus standing over them.  Instead of seeing that person as an object or an obstacle, I begin to see them as a fellow brother or sister.

When we allow our minds to see what God sees in others, we shouldn’t be surprised when He reveals something about that person to us.  So many times someone has come up to me and said, “Justin, I see the Lord doing this or that in your life.  I feel like He wants me to tell you this.”  So often they have been timely words of encouragement.

Today as you walk down the halls of your work, sit in traffic, spend time with your family, or if someone does something that rubs you the wrong way, stop for a minute and say, “God, show me how you see this person.  Show me just how much you love them.”  Watch how quickly your heart changes.  You’ll not only begin to see them as God sees them, you’ll begin to love them as yourself.

Transformative Prayer

Justin Hibbard

One evening I talked with my daughter Annalia about hearing God’s voice. Just before I put her to bed, I instructed her, “Just listen with your heart Annalia, and you’ll hear Him talk to you.”

A little while later, I heard Annalia crying hysterically in her bed. I ran upstairs to see what was wrong. “I can’t hear God talking to me,” she said amidst the tears.

In my eagerness for her to hear what God was saying, I forgot to teach her how to hear Him. It made me think of my own prayer life and ask, “How did I learn to hear God? When did that begin in my own life? Do only a few people have that gift, and if so, why does the Bible emphasize heading to God’s instruction? If it is for everyone, how do I teach others not only the importance of hearing God but how to hear Him?”

That’s my focus for today in continuation of these reflections on intimacy with God, and I want to begin this discussion by talking about your mind. Our minds are powerful circuit boards. There’s so much that goes on in our brain that affects what we perceive and how we act. In fact, our minds are so powerful that Jesus tells us that we could commit adultery or murder within the confines of our thoughts. So my question is, if our minds are that powerful to make us guilty of heinous crimes (even though we physically didn’t commit them), how powerful must they be to help transform us to be more like Jesus?

Have you ever had a day where you were really wrestling with your mind? Maybe lustful thoughts popped into your head all day, or you struggled with guilt and self-esteem. At the end of the day, how did you feel? If you’re like me, you felt worn out and spiritually maimed. You may have never said a word or committed an action, but your brain took a beating from the forces of darkness.

Is it any wonder why out of all the armor of God, we’re told that our salvation is best represented by a helmet. In Romans 12, we’re instructed to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” If we want to act differently, we have to think differently. Last week we saw this with Isaiah when we studied his encounter with the Lord in chapter 6. Once Isaiah saw himself atoned with the blazing coal, he thought differently. He no longer cowered in the shadows of his own fallen state; he raised his hand and said, “Here am I, Lord; send me.”

As I began to learn how integral the mind is to our lives as Believers, it helped me to give some instruction to my daughter. “Annalía,” I said, “I want you to close your eyes and picture and sense Jesus. Do you see Him? What does He look like? Now, what’s He saying to you.”

As I left the room that night, I said, “Whenever you get scared, I want you to close your eyes and see Jesus.” Annalía interjected, “You mean, you want me to imagine Him?”

Ooh… imagination. Is this what I’m talking about? And when I say “imagination” do all sorts of red flags go up in your mind? When people start talking in terms of thinking, sensing, feeling, perceiving, imagining many people sum it up to either psycho-babble or some eastern religion type of therapy.

If that’s the case, then what did David mean when he wrote, “Blessed is the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night?” What does it mean to meditate? Might it be similar to what Paul instructs in Philippians 4:8, “whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”

In 2 Corinthians 10:5, we’re told, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Take every thought captive? What about Satan? When do we take him captive? Perhaps taking control of our mind is one way we take control of Satan and his stronghold. Maybe Paul is giving us a clue that many of the battles of spiritual warfare are fought on the fields of our mind.

In Colossians 3, we read, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” When you incorporate your imagination, your mind, your senses in prayer, you are doing just that. Instead of letting your mind drift to all sorts of dark places, you are controlling your mind and surrendering it to the Lord.

Can you see now how Isaiah 6 can be a reality for your life? You too can see the Lord. You can ask Him to show you His glory. You can close your eyes, even right now, and meditate – imagine, sense, see, perceive, and be washed by visions of glory. This is where prayer becomes transformative.