We can often tend to be our worst critic and put ourselves down. When we make a mistake or do wrong, we may be very hard on ourselves.

Humans and people around us can also put us down, which can affect how we see ourselves.

Our confidence and self perception can be crushed from negative comments or remarks from other people. Or we can often hold on to what someone may have said to us in the past and start to believe what they said and cause us to feel less worthy or hopeless.

But when God sees us, he doesn't see our flaws or our mistakes. He doesn't point them out or use them against us.

He doesn't compare us to others, nor does he analyse us and weigh up our negative factors, he only focuses on our positives.

God doesn't look at us differently because of the things we've done. He knows our hearts, takes us as we are, with all our sins, flaws and imperfections and still loves us the same.

God always sees the best in us and wants us to do the same.

When God chose Moses to deliver the Israelites out Egypt, Moses made excuses and tried to talk his way out of it because he didn't think he was good enough. But God knew that he had the potential to be a great speaker and free the Israelites, because he saw the best in him and focused on his positive God-given qualities.

When Samuel went to David's home to anoint him, he was a child at the time. His father, Jesse presented seven of his older and stronger sons to Samuel which he thought would be the one to be anointed. Jesse presented David last, because he didn't expect him to be chosen. David was seen as just an ordinary, young shepherd boy at the time. However, God looked beyond that and knew David's potential.

As humans, we tend to have a mediate perception on what we think is the best.

We've seen many talent shows like X Factor where we often make our mind up on a contestant based on their appearance.

We may see someone who doesn't fit with what we think is the 'whole package' and assume that they will be a terrible singer. Some have even mocked by the audience and judges. But in many situations, we have been surprised to find that they were very good.

We can tend to make automatic assumptions based on what we see on the outside. But God doesn't look at the superficial things. He doesn't look at us in the way humans look at us, which is focused on the outward appearances, God always looks at our hearts (1 Samuel 16:7).

We should never be discouraged. We need to learn to see ourselves how God sees us and acknowledge our true worth.

In God's sight alone, we are 'precious and honoured' (Isaiah 43:4). God sees us us worthy individuals, and we stand out to him.

We can work for a company or organisation with hundreds of staff. You could invest many years in that company and the CEO may never learn your name or individual existence in the company. We will only be known by our employee numbers.

But in God's everlasting Kingdom, our individual presence is known. We will never be missed out or forgotten. God doesn't call us by a number or code, he knows us personally and calls us by name, because we are his (Isaiah 43:1).

God sees great potential in us and wants us to acknowledge how fearful and wonderful we are.

We need to remember how important we are in the eyes of God, have a positive perception on ourselves and believe in God's words, promises and purpose for our lives.

Esther ♥