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An Inside Look Through the Lens of Jesus Christ

Learning to See What Is Happening Within Us — and Bring It Under the Loving Reign of Jesus

by Raimer R.

Discipleship • SERIES: Through the Lens of Jesus Christ

We can live for a long time without really understanding what is happening inside us. We notice the argument but not the fear beneath it. We notice the irritation but not the expectation that produced it. We notice that we withdrew from someone but never ask what we were protecting. Behavior is visible. What is happening beneath it is often harder to see.

Yet Jesus is not interested merely in changing our outward behavior. He is forming the whole person. That means discipleship eventually requires an inside look. Not endless introspection. Not becoming preoccupied with ourselves.

An inside look is learning to pay honest attention to what is happening within us so that, with Jesus and through the Holy Spirit, we can bring more of ourselves under His loving leadership. We notice what is happening. We learn to recognize patterns. Then we allow Jesus to show us what needs to be understood, surrendered, or realigned.

Over time, we begin to see more clearly how we move toward the way of Jesus — and how we drift away from it.

Jesus Wants to Form the Whole Person

Jesus does not merely want us to perform Christian behaviors. He wants to form us into people who increasingly think like Him, love what He loves, and live in His way. This is where a holistic approach to discipleship becomes especially powerful.

MIND — We look at our thoughts because they reveal the mindset shaping how we see reality.
HEART — We pay attention to our desires and loves because what we value deeply directs our lives.
MOTIVES — We examine our motives because the same outward action can flow from very different places within us.

What is happening inside eventually shapes how faithfully we live.

The movement is:

Renewed mind → Reordered loves → Purified motives → Faithful action

Romans 12:2 connects transformation with the renewing of the mind. Jesus repeatedly went beneath outward behavior to the heart. He wanted people not merely to behave differently but to see differently. So an inside look asks more than: “What did I do?”

It also asks:

“What was I thinking?”
“What was I wanting?”
“What was driving me?”

And ultimately: “Jesus, how are You teaching me to see this?”

This is whole-person formation: learning to perceive life more truthfully through Jesus so that we can increasingly live His way.

Learning to See Ourselves With Jesus

Scripture invites honest examination: “Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord. ” — Lamentations 3:40 NIV. That verse captures the purpose well. We examine in order to return. The psalmist makes the posture even more relational:

“Search me, God, and know my heart… See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” — Psalm 139:23–24 NIV.

Christian self-examination is therefore not simply me examining me. We are not perfectly objective about ourselves. We can justify our behavior or misread our motives. We can minimize something serious or judge ourselves too harshly.

So we look within with Jesus. We ask Him to help us see what we may not see on our own. We depend upon the Holy Spirit to bring truth into the light. The question is not simply: “What is wrong with me?” It becomes: “Jesus, what is happening in me, and what are You helping me see?”

The goal is not self-knowledge for its own sake. The goal is greater responsiveness to the living Jesus.

Self-Awareness, Reflection, and Examination

These practices work together:

Self-awareness notices. Something is happening in me.
1. I recognize that I am anxious.
2. I notice that I became defensive.
3. I realize that I am unusually irritated.

Awareness gives me something to pay attention to.

Self-reflection explores. What might be happening beneath this?
1. Why did that comment affect me so strongly?
2. What was I hoping would happen?
3. What am I afraid of losing?

Reflection slows us down long enough to understand rather than simply react.

Self-examination discerns. Now I bring what I am seeing before Jesus.
1. Does this align with Your way?
2. What does this reveal about what I am trusting?
3. Where might I need to repent or surrender?

Self-awareness notices. Self-reflection explores. Self-examination discerns. Together, they help us recognize what is happening within us and respond more faithfully to Jesus.

One Event May Reveal Something; a Pattern Reveals More

One of the greatest benefits of regularly looking within is that we begin recognizing patterns. Perhaps criticism repeatedly makes me defensive. Maybe uncertainty consistently makes me controlling. Perhaps feeling overlooked awakens resentment.

At first, these experiences may seem unrelated. Regular reflection connects today’s experience with yesterday’s. Eventually we begin saying: “This isn’t only what happened today. Something keeps happening in me.”

That is an important moment in formation. We are no longer simply correcting isolated behavior. We are beginning to recognize the deeper ways we repeatedly move away from trust in Jesus.

So we learn to ask:

When does this tend to happen?
What seems to awaken it?
What do I usually do next?

A pattern gives us something more specific to understand—and something more specific to bring to Jesus.

What Are We Looking For?

We do not need to analyze everything within us every day. And not every strong emotion or unmet desire is evidence of sin. Emotions can alert us to what matters or what hurts. The question is what they reveal and how we respond.

Jeremiah gives us a powerful place to begin:

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. ” — Jeremiah 2:13 NIV

We are thirsty people. We want love and belonging. We long for security and significance. These desires are not necessarily wrong. The deeper question is: What am I thirsty for — and where am I going to satisfy that thirst? Sometimes our struggles reveal that we are trying to secure something through our own strategies rather than entrusting our thirst to God.

Self-Management — We may begin self-managing—trying to secure for ourselves what we are afraid to entrust to God. Self-management may become control when we try to guarantee an outcome or another person’s response beyond our responsibility. Desire can become demandingness when “I deeply want this” quietly becomes “I must have this in order to be okay.”
Self-Protection — Pain can produce self-protection when avoiding hurt begins governing the way we relate. Self-protection is not the same as wise boundaries. The issue is whether fear has become the governing motive rather than truth and love.

These are not labels for condemning ourselves. They are words that help us see more accurately. The companion guide Right Alignment Under Jesus explores these patterns more fully. It places them within the larger biblical picture of God as our ultimate Source and clarifies the difference between responsibility and control. Here the immediate question is: Where might one of these patterns be operating in me — and what am I struggling to entrust to Jesus?

Learn to Name What Is Really Happening

An inside look requires learning to name things honestly. We often begin with vague descriptions: “I was frustrated.” That may be true. But further reflection might reveal: “I was angry because I expected that person to appreciate what I did.” Deeper still: “I wasn’t merely hoping for appreciation. I had begun demanding it.” Now we are seeing more clearly. Or perhaps: “I needed some space.” Further reflection reveals: “I was withdrawing because I was afraid of rejection.” The goal is not to find the harshest description. The goal is to find the truest one.

We cannot meaningfully realign what we refuse to see clearly. Grace allows us to tell the truth without hiding from Jesus. Sometimes our first answer will not be our deepest answer. So we linger. We ask another question. We remain open to what Jesus may show us.

Bring What You Discover to Jesus

The inside look does not end with awareness. Knowing why I behave a certain way does not automatically transform me. Jesus invites us beyond insight into realignment. Once something becomes visible, we can ask:

Where does my mind need to be renewed? What am I believing that is not true?
Where do my loves need to be reordered? What have I begun wanting in a disordered way?
Where do my motives need to be purified? What is really driving me?
Where do my actions need to become faithful? What would living the way of Jesus look like here?

This is where discovery begins moving toward embodiment. We participate by paying attention and surrendering. We respond through repentance and obedience.

But transformation is ultimately God’s work in us. Philippians 2:12–13 holds both realities together: we actively respond because God Himself is at work within us. We do not transform ourselves. We make ourselves increasingly available and responsive to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit.

Repentance Is Realignment

Sometimes what we discover requires repentance. Perhaps I recognize that I have been controlling. Perhaps I see that I have been demanding something another person cannot ultimately provide. Maybe fear has caused me to protect myself rather than love.

Repentance means I stop defending what Jesus is revealing. I name it. I receive His grace. Then I turn again toward His way. Repentance is realignment. I turn from the strategy I have been trusting and return to Jesus.

Then a different question becomes possible: “Jesus, what would trusting You and following Your way look like here instead?” Repentance is not merely regret about where I have been. It is a return to Jesus and a new direction for how I will walk.

The Prayer of Examen: Practicing the Inside Look

One of the most helpful ways to develop this kind of awareness is the Prayer of Examen. The Examen creates regular space to be with Jesus and look back over our lives with Him.

We might ask:

1. What happened in me today?
2. Where did I respond faithfully to Jesus?
3. Where did I move away from His way?

As we practice, we begin noticing patterns. Perhaps today I became impatient. Yesterday I did too. Then I realize: I tend to become impatient whenever I feel rushed. Now I see something I did not see as clearly before. Self-awareness is beginning to become wisdom.

The Examen does not transform us because self-analysis has special power. It helps because it makes us more attentive and responsive to what God is already doing within us.

Look Forward, Not Only Backward

The Examen should not only help us understand yesterday. It can prepare us for tomorrow. If feeling rushed tends to make me impatient, and tomorrow will be demanding, I can bring that situation to Jesus before it happens.

PRAYER: Jesus, I know this is a vulnerable place for me. Help me recognize what is happening before impatience takes over. Fill me with Your Spirit and teach me to walk through tomorrow with You.

Yesterday’s reflection becomes tomorrow’s preparation. At first, I notice a pattern after it happens. Later, I recognize it while it is happening. Eventually, I begin noticing the conditions that awaken it before I enter them. We become increasingly able to respond to Jesus rather than simply react to circumstances.

A helpful rhythm emerges:

Notice → Reflect → Recognize Patterns → Examine with Jesus → Repent & Realign → Anticipate → Walk Differently

This is not a formula to master. It is a pathway for continuing to learn with Jesus.

We Never Graduate From the Inside Look

There will always be more for Jesus to form in us. New relationships expose things old relationships never touched. New responsibilities reveal fears we did not know were there. New seasons uncover desires we had not yet understood. This does not mean we are making no progress. It means Jesus is forming a real human life. We never exhaust the inexhaustible Christ.

The mature disciple is not someone who no longer needs examination. Maturity includes becoming increasingly able to recognize what life reveals and bring it honestly to Jesus. So we keep learning. We keep realigning. And we keep walking with Him.

The Inside Look Eventually Turns Outward

Learning to look honestly within also changes how we see others. As I become aware of my own mixed motives, I become slower to assume that another person’s behavior tells the whole story. As I recognize my own patterns, I understand more about the human struggle. And as I repeatedly discover my need for grace, I become better prepared to extend grace.

Jesus said: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ” — Matthew 7:5 NIV. Jesus does not say we should never help another person. He says first attend honestly to ourselves. Then we may see another person more clearly.

The more honestly we learn to see ourselves, the more graciously we learn to see others.

That changes loving accountability. Instead of standing above someone and diagnosing them, we can stand beside them and ask better questions:

What are you noticing?
What might be underneath that?
Where might Jesus be inviting you to trust Him?

We learn to notice with Jesus. Then we help others learn to notice with Jesus. That is how personal formation can become shared formation without becoming control.

The Goal Is Mature Love

The inside look is not about becoming fascinated with ourselves. Its destination is love. As control loosens its grip, we become freer to receive people as they are. As demandingness is surrendered, we become freer to seek another person’s good. As self-protection loses its governing place, we become freer to love without arranging every relationship around ourselves.

Mature love does not mean becoming passive. Jesus confronted people. He practiced wise boundaries. He sometimes withdrew. The governing question is: “Jesus, what does love require here?” The more deeply our lives become aligned under His loving reign, the freer we become to answer that question faithfully.

This is the movement of discipleship:

Be with Jesus → Become like Jesus → Live as Jesus lived

We remain with Him and learn from Him. Through the Spirit, we are transformed increasingly into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18). Then His life becomes increasingly visible through ours.

Keep Looking With Jesus

An inside look is not an invitation to stare at ourselves. It is an invitation to walk more honestly with the living Jesus. We notice what is happening. We name what is true. We repent and realign where needed. Then we walk forward with Him. The goal is not perfect self-understanding. The goal is increasing attentiveness and responsiveness to Jesus.

We look within with Jesus so that what is hidden can become known, what is disordered can be realigned, and what is immature can increasingly be formed into the mature love of Christ.

Over a lifetime, we become more aware of the nuanced ways we wander from His path. We become quicker to recognize His invitation back. And we increasingly learn to be with Him, become like Him, and live as He lived.

A Simple Practice for an Inside Look

When something in you feels unusually strong — a reaction, conflict, or recurring struggle — linger with Jesus. You do not need to ask every question. Begin with what helps you notice:

What am I noticing?
What might be underneath this?
Have I seen this pattern before?
What am I wanting or afraid of?
Where might I be trying to control something?
Jesus, what are You showing me?
What needs to be repented of or realigned?
How would You have me walk forward?

Then carry one faithful response into your life.

Notice. Name. Repent and realign. Trust. Keep walking with Jesus.

COMPANION GUIDE

For a deeper exploration of God as our ultimate Source, rightly ordered dependence, responsibility versus control, demandingness, and self-protection, see:

Right Alignment Under Jesus — A Companion Guide to An Inside Look Through the Lens of Jesus Christ

The companion guide provides the larger biblical map. This article helps us recognize where we are on that map—and how the living Jesus is inviting us to realign with Him.

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