Make it your goal to look at things the way the Lord sees them; not according to the outward appearance, but as they truly are on the inside. That starts with how you see yourself. Your entire life, you have seen yourself as others say you are — you have heard their words about you based on outward appearance. Then, when you find the Lord and begin to look into His word, you hear Him saying things about you that do not match with what you see outwardly. But, praise God, He does not see as man sees, for God looks at the heart.
Remember, even the prophet Samuel, who was so heavily anointed of God that the Lord let none of his words fall to the ground, when he came to Jesse’s household to anoint the new king whom the Lord would appoint, he began by judging Jesse’s sons by their outward appearance. Samuel wisely waited before speaking until he heard from the Lord and had his perspective corrected by God, for man looks on the outside but God sees what is inside a person. When the young lad David is anointed king, he looked like anything but a king on the outside. But God saw his heart, that David was a man after God’s own heart!
The same is true of situations — they must be judged according to what God says about them rather than by how they appear outwardly. It may look like your situation is hopeless, but don’t look at life according to its outward appearance; see what God sees!