The Power of Perception

Ryan O’Neill

When you think about God, what do you think about? Where do you get your mental image of Him, the perception you have? Is it from media? Friends? Parents? A spouse? Maybe a song or a movie, or the creation you see outside around you? 

When we talk about God, the first thing that comes to mind is probably all of the “omni’s”: omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient. We think of His unchanging nature, how He’s sovereign, perfect, eternal. We could think of how He’s revealed Himself to us; a comforter, slow to anger, a protector. We can also think of characteristics that He has that live inside us as Christians; things like love, compassion, grace, kindness, and mercy.

A.W. Tozer says, "What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us."

My whole life I’ve always viewed God as “there,” but as I grew both physically and in my relationship with Him my perception of Him shifted.  When I was four I viewed God as a savior, because that’s when I accepted the salvation that was offered. When I was seven I viewed God as a friend and security, because I was afraid of the dark and I needed a protector.  When I was in college I viewed God as a flea market vendor, because I bargained with Him all the time to try and negotiate what I wanted (I’ll do this if you give me an A, or if you help me pass this class, or if you get this person to notice me). Then when I started in ministry, I viewed God as a necessity to survive, as job security, and almost as an obligation. God was now my career! Through all this I saw God differently, and while most of the time I feel I had a good relationship with God, I had a hard time truly connecting with Him because, though my perception changed, I still saw God as seemingly far away because of His “all powerful” nature. The eternal pieces of Him that I can’t fully wrap my finite mind around made it hard to relate to Him.

We need to avoid the perception that, with His unnatural characteristics, we serve an unapproachable God. Hebrews 4:16 tells us to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

A God you can approach is a God you can acclimate to. A God we can get to know personally, and be in relationship with. But that has to happen with time. In the throne room. In space with God. I didn’t decide to marry my wife based on an instant, or just one conversation, yet a lot of us think we know God because of how we’ve seen Him in glimpses. Time impacts perception. You can get your image of God from other people, media, catch glimpses, even a misinterpretation of scripture, but the more time you spend with God, your creator, the more His character will be revealed. This is incredibly important because how you perceive God determines how you carry yourself. What we think of God, right or wrong, impacts the way that we live. Our intentions, actions, and opinions.

We see this in Exodus 17 when God's chosen people yielded to incorrect views of Him. After years of slavery in Egypt, God led the Israelites out of their bondage and through the parted Red Sea. Each morning, He provided manna that rained from the sky for them to eat. Yet when they couldn't find water, they doubted God as their provider: Exodus 17:3 - "They grumbled against Moses and said, 'Why, now, have you brought us up from Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?'" Time after time God provided, but the Israelites failed to trust His goodness and provision. 


God loves His children. His creation. Jeremiah says He knew us before He formed us in the womb. The gospels tell us He loves us so much He sent Jesus to die for us and wants everyone to be reconciled back to true relationship in Him. Time after time God shows up for us. But we create a projection of who God should be based on what we think we need. That influences both our perception of Him, and our production of character. In a holy, righteous pursuit of God, we receive clarity, direction, guidance, and discernment. This is the condition in which we live our life. Our view of God directly influences what career we pursue, who we choose to marry or, how we raise our children. The big decisions of life. And if that view is inadequate, we risk worshiping Him not as He truly is, but as whom we've created Him to be.  God desires for you to know Him in truth. Jeremiah 9:24 says, "Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me."

Let us be open to change. To have the Lord shape our perception of who He is. God is only truly known in the soul as we yield ourselves to Him. To yield is to sacrifice, and to sacrifice for the kingdom is to kill the flesh. Galatians 5:24: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Let us desire that change. That renewal and transformation as it says in Romans. Then we must read His Word. God has given us His Word as the clearest description of who He is.
We all have a choice. A choice to align our view of God with truth, or not. Our choice influences everything, and our choice is bred from an understanding of the God that we serve. Go to the source. To know the voice of the Lord, we need to seek the Lord. Because it is only God’s voice that pilots our choice.