The Man in the Mirror!!! 

Mirrors are funny little things, aren't they? They don't care how you feel. They don't care if you're running late. They don't care if you think you still look twenty-five. They simply tell the truth. Every morning, most of us stumble into the bathroom, flip on the light, and look in the mirror. Some mornings we're feeling pretty good. "Alright now, I still got it." Other mornings, well, the mirror has a different opinion. Who is that? Did I always have those bags under my eyes? When did that gray hair show up? Now don't act like I'm the only one who's had a full conversation with the mirror before brushing my teeth. Some of y'all have negotiated with that mirror, tilted your head a few different ways, and even blamed the lighting. If this bathroom had better lights, I'd look a whole lot better. The mirror just keeps looking back like, "Don't blame me. I'm just telling you what I see."

Life has a mirror too, it just doesn't hang on your bathroom wall. Sometimes it looks like a difficult conversation. Sometimes it looks like a financial struggle. Sometimes it looks like disappointment. Sometimes it looks like temptation. Those moments have a way of showing us what's really inside. That reminds me of Matthew 4:1–11. After Lord Jesus was baptized, Scripture tells us that the Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting for forty days and forty nights, Jesus was physically hungry when Satan approached Him. The devil tempted Him three different times.

"If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

"Throw Yourself down."

"Worship me, and I'll give You all the kingdoms of the world."

At first glance, those temptations seem completely different. But underneath each one was the same question:

Would Lord Jesus continue trusting the Father, or would He take matters into His own hands?

The wilderness became a mirror. Not because Jesus needed to discover who He was. He already knew exactly who He was. The wilderness revealed what was already in His heart. His trust in the Father was greater than His hunger. Greater than His circumstances. Greater than every temptation placed before Him. Life has a way of doing the very same thing to us. Pressure is a mirror. Temptation is a mirror. Success is a mirror. Failure is a mirror. Financial hardship is a mirror. Conflict is a mirror. None of these things create our character. They simply reveal it. It's easy to trust God when everything is going our way. It's easy to worship when the bills are paid, everyone is healthy, and life feels predictable. But what about when the diagnosis comes? When the job falls through? When the bills keep piling up? When you've been praying, and heaven seems unusually quiet? Those moments become mirrors. They reveal what we've really been trusting all along. 

One of my favorite parts of this passage is Jesus' response. He never argued with Satan. He never panicked. He never relied on His own strength. Every temptation was answered with the Word of God.

"It is written..."

"It is also written..."

"Away from me, Satan! For it is written..."

Lord Jesus wasn't quoting Scripture because it sounded good. He was standing on the truth of His Father. And that's exactly what we need to do. James 1:23–25 tells us that God's Word is like a mirror. It shows us who we really are. Sometimes we don't like what it reveals. Maybe it exposes fear instead of faith. Worry instead of trust. Pride instead of humility. Self-reliance instead of surrender. But here's the good news. The Heavenly Father doesn't hold up the mirror to shame us. He holds it up to change us. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. So the next time life puts you under pressure, don't be so quick to ask, "Lord, why is this happening to me?" Instead ask, "Heavenly Father, what is this revealing in me?" Because sometimes the greatest miracle isn't that God changes your circumstances. Sometimes the greatest miracle is that He changes the person staring back at you in the mirror.

Next Step

The next time you stand in front of a mirror, don't just check your hair or straighten your clothes. Take a moment and ask the Heavenly Father to examine your heart. The mirror may reveal who you are today. But by God's grace, it doesn't have to define who you'll become.

God bless you, God keep you. God loves you and I love you too!