There is a deep healing that begins when we start seeing ourselves the way God sees us. Most of us interpret ourselves through our wounds, our mistakes, and the opinions of others. God never looks at us through that narrow lens. He sees the full story. He understands the hidden battles. He carries the complete picture of our lives.
“You have searched me, Lord, and you know me… You are familiar with all my ways.”
Psalm 139:1–3
God’s knowledge of you is complete. He sees the pain that shaped your reactions and the trauma that formed your patterns. That is why His perspective is always higher, fuller, and more compassionate than your own.
How God Sees You
1. God Sees the Whole Story
When we look at ourselves, we often judge based on what we did today. If we perform well, we feel good. If we struggle, we conclude we are failing. But God sees beyond today. He sees your history. He sees the moments that broke you. He sees the resilience that kept you going.
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”
Jeremiah 1:5
Trauma experts like Dr. Bessel van der Kolk explain that our past experiences shape our behaviors in ways even we do not always understand. But God sees and understands completely. He sees the wound behind your weakness and the story behind your struggle.
2. God Sees You Through Love, Not Performance
We tend to classify people:
If our actions are good, we think we are good.
If our actions are bad, we think we are bad.
And we do the same to others.
But God sees differently.
“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7
Your identity is not defined by performance. It is anchored in God’s love.
How We See Others
We often judge others based on surface behavior, forgetting the stories that shaped them. Brokenness comes from unhealed wounds. Most people are reacting from places they haven’t healed yet.
We see a moment.
God sees a lifetime.
We see behavior.
God sees the pain underneath.
This doesn’t mean we excuse harm. It simply means we understand that our vision is limited, while God’s is complete.
Discernment: Seeing Through God’s Eyes Without Leaving Yourself Vulnerable
1. Discernment Is Not Blind Trust
God never asks us to expose ourselves to unnecessary harm. Even Jesus stepped away from dangerous people when the Father instructed Him.
Discernment is wisdom that comes from God. It is seeing through His eyes, not your own.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
Proverbs 3:5
2. Discernment and the Garden of Eden: Self-Reliance vs. God-Reliance
One of the clearest pictures of discernment is in the Garden of Eden.
Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
This was more than disobedience—it was a shift in source.
Before the fall, God defined what was good.
God defined what was evil.
God defined what was safe.
Their discernment came from walking with Him.
But when they ate from that tree, they chose to rely on their own understanding instead of God’s voice. It was humanity’s first attempt at self-guided wisdom.
Discernment invites us back to God-dependence.
Listening again.
Leaning again.
Letting Him define what is good and what is harmful.
3. Discernment Is Asking for God’s Opinion
Jesus lived in perfect dependence on the Father. He said:
“The Son can do nothing by Himself; He can only do what He sees His Father doing.”
John 5:19
“I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught Me.”
John 8:28
If Jesus—fully God and fully man—relied on the Father’s voice, how much more should we?
Discernment looks like:
- Pausing before reacting
- Asking God what He sees
- Listening for His gentle impressions
- Following His peace rather than our impulses
- Letting Scripture shape our interpretation
Spiritual teacher Dallas Willard calls this “learning to live from God’s constant presence.”
4. Discernment Is Learning to Recognize God’s Voice
“You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”
Isaiah 30:21
God’s voice brings peace—never panic.
Clarity—never confusion.
Direction—never chaos.
Christian psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud notes that emotional maturity and spiritual sensitivity work together. The Holy Spirit often guides us through gentle nudges, conviction, or a deep sense of peace.
Seeing Through God’s Perspective Changes Everything
When you learn to see yourself the way God sees you, shame loosens its grip.
When you begin to see others with His compassion, judgment softens.
And when you live from His wisdom instead of your own, life becomes lighter and more restful.
God knows you fully.
He understands you deeply.
He guides you gently.
And He calls you His own.