Seeing Yourself Through God’s Eyes
“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
— 1 Samuel 16:7
So much of our life is shaped by the way we see ourselves. Even more quietly, it is shaped by what we believe God sees when He looks at us. Over time, those beliefs begin to guide our thoughts, our decisions, and the way we show up in the world.
Many women carry an image of themselves that did not form through love. Pain, comparison, rejection, and silence often shape it instead. As years pass, that image settles into the heart. It begins to feel familiar, then believable, and eventually true. Yet God has always looked at us through a very different lens.
The Shift That Changes Everything
Healing often begins the moment truth enters the room. Not because everything suddenly changes, but because something loosens its grip. That shift happens when a woman stops seeing herself through the lens of her past and begins to see herself through the eyes of God.
Most of us never learned how to look at ourselves with tenderness. Instead, we trained ourselves to scan for flaws, measure worth by performance, and interpret our reflection through wounds. Those habits taught us to see ourselves through what hurt us or failed us. However, that lens was never meant to define us forever.
A Sacred Moment From the Studio
One woman came into my studio carrying this quiet weight. She struggled to see her beauty, her worth, and even her presence. She spoke about herself carefully, almost apologetically, as though taking up space required permission.
Before I photograph anyone, I always pause to pray. I do this not out of routine, but out of surrender.
Lord, help me to speak Your life and love into her. Bless the images I take so that she may see herself the way You see her. Help her to love herself the way You love her. Amen.
As we talked and worked together, something softened. She began to open—not only to the camera, but to herself. When she later looked back at her photographs, she did not see the distorted image she had carried for years. Instead, dignity met her gaze. Strength appeared without striving. Gentleness stood where self-criticism once lived.
What she saw was not perfection. She saw truth.
When God enters the process, the reflection no longer comes from pain. His love reshapes what appears. That love has always waited patiently to be received.
When God’s Gaze Rewrites the Story
Once a woman begins to see herself through God’s eyes, her inner world starts to change. Her self-talk softens. Her posture shifts. Her choices begin to align with who she truly is.
Rather than living to prove her worth, she learns to live from it. This shift opens her heart to possibility. She starts imagining a life shaped by calling instead of fear, by trust instead of shame. In time, she recognizes that God created her intentionally and continues to invite her into purpose.
Seeing herself rightly becomes the doorway to living more fully.
A Gentle Invitation
This week, before you look at yourself—whether in a mirror, a photograph, or a quiet moment of reflection—pause and ask the Lord one simple question: How do You see me?
Listen without judgment. Receive without fear. Trust what rises.
Learning to see yourself through God’s eyes does not happen all at once. It unfolds through practice, through patience, and through daily returns to truth. As love replaces distortion, it begins to change not only how you see yourself, but how you live, how you love, and how you step into the purpose God has always held for you.
YOU ARE loved,
Leslie
