Look Closer

Elise Aleman
Imago Dei
Oil on canvas
30 x 40 inches

Do you have regrets? Are there things in your past that make you cringe with remorse? Lost opportunities, loss of relationships over dumb arguments? I know, I have them too, but here’s the thing, our past led us to our present and it shapes us—still. Maybe that’s the problem, your present isn’t what you’d hoped for or envisioned.

May I remind you that no matter what, you were still created in God’s image (the Imago Dei) so what does that mean exactly? Well, it means you have the potential of the Creator within, His love, His grace, His forgiveness. No matter what your past was He promises that He can turn all things around for the good of those who love him. (Romans 8:27-29).

If your past seems hopelessly unredeemable, put it faithfully in His hands and let Him do what He does. Things may not change right away, it may take years, or you might never know what God has done this side of heaven. It’s all right. Let it go anyway.  

When you put your hope in Jesus you were transformed into a new creation, so why do you still see yourself in the old skin? It’s time to change how you view yourself “As someone thinks within himself, so he is.” (Proverbs 23:7). It is not about your exterior it’s about your inner beauty.

God sees it.

God sees you.

Now live it.

Prayer: Lord, You know my hurts, you know what I’ve done and what’s been done to me. I take all the painful memories, all the regrets, and give them up to you. I have faith that You will take my ashes and turn them into something beautiful and useful. Help me live a forgiven and redeemed life for you. Help me see myself as you see me. In Jesus’s name, Amen.

This devotional was inspired by Proverbs 23:7. “As someone thinks within himself, so he is.”