It was 1983. I had struggled with self-hatred and self-rejection for years. My dear pastor sat me down and suggested that I begin to see myself as the Lord sees me.
He gave me an assignment to help implement his suggestion. I was to look into my eyes in my mirror and say, “I am of great value in the eyes of God.” It seemed like a simple thing to do. Yet my tongue was tied, and the tears flowed. I didn’t believe it.
It took me two years of diligently looking into my eyes in my mirror and repeating those words. Then one day, a sparkle came into my eyes as I said it. I laughed and was able to embrace the words with heart-felt belief. “I am of great value in the eyes of God!”
What had changed? My heart had finally believed and embraced the truth of what God says in his word. We can read verses over and over in the Bible. Until they become engrafted in our heart, they will just be words. However, when we embrace them and make them our own, they become part of our thought processes.
O Father. I am so grateful for your unconditional love for me. You do not see me through the hurtful events in my life, nor caustic words spoken over me. You have exchanged my filthy rags for your robe of righteousness. You have sealed me in your love that can never be taken from me. Thank you for choosing me before the foundation of the world to be your very own.
Throughout this day: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you the hidden beliefs that you have towards yourself which do not reflect God's love for you. Then renounce that lie and affirm the truth that His love is unconditional. This hymn may help you verbalize your desire to allow Jesus to make you more and more like him: "O To Be Like Thee"