Seeing My Life As God Sees Me

Scripture:  Zechariah 3:1-5 - Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. 4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.

Whose message about you means the most in how you see yourself?  There are three major influences that can determine how we live with our imperfect selves in this world.  Denying reality is not being honest with ourselves.  Seeing what we see is not always the final determination about what we truly are in the eyes of the Lord.  In our present devotional for meditation we see the three variables of life that we must understand in the life of a true child of God.  First, Joshua the Priest symbolizes for us that we must realize we are to live our lives before the Lord.  Secondly, we must see the reality of satanic opposition seeking to affect how we see the life we are called to live.  Thirdly, we must believe what the Lord says above whatever else we hear.
     
Are you living with the awareness that no matter where you are and what you are doing you are standing before God?  It is the place we truly discover our true selves in the light of His unapproachable light of holiness.  Yet, it is the place of awareness and accountability before Him whom we worship as our God.  Before Him we are exposed for what we truly are, and that exposure provokes in us a spontaneous humility in our attitudes of worship.  It is the same impact that we see in (Isaiah 6:1) when the prophet saw the Lord high and lifted up.  This awareness provoked humility with a profound sense of his sin in the presence of the Lord’s holiness.

Are you living with the awareness that in the dynamic of our standing relationship with the Lord, there is Satan and demonic opposition that seeks to damage, discourage and destroy the quality of your relationship?  Satan seeks to oppose the Lord’s work in our lives -- while at the same time oppose our understanding of the Lord’s will for our lives.  The text tells us that Satan is standing at the right hand of who?  The Angel of the Lord or is it Joshua the Priest?  Either way, we must be alert because our adversary exists in close enough proximity to affect how and what we see, hear, and understand about the Lord and/or ourselves.  At the right hand he tries to distract us from looking from the Lord to him.  At the right hand he tries to disguise himself so that we may give him the worship that is due the Lord.  At the right hand he works to distort the message of God to us.  Satan’s greatest success is to lie to us that he does not exist so that we will not be as alert as God instructs us to be (I Peter 5:8).

Are you living with the awareness that you must believe the words of the Lord above what you see and what you hear from any other source?  It is the authority of the Lord’s words that put Satan and other demon opposition in place, “THE LORD REBUKE YOU, SATAN”. No one has the authority to accuse or charge the Lord’s elect people (Romans 8:33-35).  Certainly no one needs to educate Him about our filthy garments.   Do you see yourselves in the incomplete truths of Satan’s accusations about our sin, or do you see yourselves in the truth of God’s forgiveness and cleansing?  Satan’s strategy is not always to tell lies about us, but to use truths in their worse light to render us feeling discouraged and disqualified from the Lord’s purposes for our lives.  What the Lord says about us should be how we see ourselves.  He tells Joshua, “SEE”, what I have done!  The Lord has chosen and cleansed you and His people for a purpose, and He is faithful to His choices -- which are far deeper than the works and failings of His people. Stop holding on and dwelling upon the filthy garments and live in the authority and cleansing of His Words.

Prayer: O God, I know that in and of myself I have no merit, but I thank You that the merit of my Lord Jesus can stand for me.  I am undeserving of such great grace, but I look always to Your great mercies to which You have applied toward all my sins.  Help me to be more consistent in my life to put down sin, pride, and everything in me that still resembles a fallen man.  Thank You for helping me today to see myself as You have made me through faith in the finished work of my Savior who paid for all my sin.

(by Pastor Wayne Cockrell)