You ever wondered how God sees you?  What does He see when He looks at you?  How does God view you?

You know what God is?  God is an optimist.  God sees the best in you. Look at what we see today in Judges 6: 11-12:

11 Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty warrior.”

Ok, here’s Gideon, beating out the wheat, to hide it from his enemies.  You know what he is doing?  He’s hiding.  He’s afraid.  He’s scared.  He’s, dare, I say, a coward.

So how does the angel of the Lord greet him?  “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”  Gideon was a lot of things, but a mighty warrior was not one of them.  He showed no signs leading up to this that he was a mighty warrior, and honesty, even after the Lord’s calling he didn’t always act with a lot of courage either.

He was not a warrior in the line of so many others in Judges.  He was often afraid.

But that’s not how the Lord saw him.  The Lord’s greeting was mighty warrior!

The Lord is an optimist.  He does not see us for who we are or who we used to be.  The Lord sees us for who we can be.  The Lord sees us for what we can become.  The Lord doesn’t stay focused on what was or what is now.

He focuses on what can be.

The Lord is an optimist.

And you know what?  Today, He believes in you.  He sees what can be.  He sees what you can be.  What you can do.  He doesn’t hold your past or even your present against you.

He has forgiven you.

And He knows what you can be.  He knows what you can do.  He knows what greatness lies within you, based off His grace.

The Lord believes in you.  The Lord is an optimist.

If you’d like to be added to my devotional list, click here to sign up. You also can read these thoughts on St. Matthew’s mobile app. Click here to download!