Lies – There’s this big lie floating around out there that says we aren’t good enough. We aren’t good enough for that big job or to reach those big goals. We aren’t good enough for people and that we aren’t good enough for God. This is something that catches me up more than I’d like to admit. I’ve had this idea that I need to be prefect to be deserving of anything, and when it falls through, I’d done something imperfectly that was deserving of the outcome. It’s something I’ve believed for so long that even though I know it isn’t true, the enemy knows he can cause me to take a pause and be distracted by it. We all face some sort of lie that shows it’s ugly head over and over at the worst times, and the repetition makes us feel shame. Like, “how can I not get past this? Why am I so weak that I can’t put this behind me for good?” Shame is an interesting thing. It’s a lie that masquerades as truth. It seems deserved and is a heavy weight to carry, especially alone. Shame causes separation from God but only on our side. It makes us want to hide from him because we feel we’ve done something to deserve it. That’s a lie.
Authority – Something I’ve been growing in this year. The enemy wants me to believe that I’m helpless. He wants me to believe that the anxiety and fear are always going to take control and that I’ll never get out. God says otherwise. He says that we have the authority over the things that make us feel helpless and trapped. We have the authority HE gave us. When my team was in Ghana, we worked at a school sharing the love of Jesus to some really cool kids from preschool to highschool. I listened to stories from my teammates about how they struggled with authority in the class room as did I and God showed me through this how authority must be given. When the teachers at the school passed their authority on to us, only then were we able to create order in the classroom and teach our students. After being given that authority we were able to establish it by standing firm behind what we had been given. I finally understood what it meant to walk in authority. It didn’t mean that I should never face hard times again. It didn’t mean that I would be a perfect human being with no ups and downs. It meant that when the hard times do come, I would have the authority to shut it down; the authority given to me by a loving father so that I won’t have to feel helpless when disorder tries to overwhelm me. That’s the truth.
Identity – Who are we? Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? These are tough questions to answer when we don’t know our identity. I didn’t know who I was for so long and some days I forget and have to be reminded again.
So who am I? I’m a daughter of a loving, generous father who always wants what’s best for me. He designed a purpose just for me before my parents ever thought of me. He loves me as if I’m the only person on the Earth and he pursues a relationship with me daily. He wants me to know him and he desires for me to share the deepest parts of my heart with him.
What am I not? I’m not the things I do. I am so much more to him. He sees what I’m capable of and he nurtures that. When I fall short he uses that as a joyful opportunity to step in and show his glory. He never shames me. He never hides himself from me. He’s always readily available and exited to see what I’ll do next just like a new father watching his baby girl grow. She learns to crawl, talk and take her first steps. “What will she do next?” He’s always ready in anticipation. He knows all but chooses to observe in excitement. He knows all, but we wants me to share my heart with Him instead of just standing by in the knowledge he has. Something cool is that he feels this same thing for you. You are precious and irreplaceable to him. You’re worth dying for. He loves you more than you can imagine and he’s pursuing you daily. He has a purpose for you that’s more than just waking up, going to work and going to sleep. He sees you even when you feel unseen and he’s excited about who you are and he desires to see the deepest parts of you. All you have to do is just be still and be with him. Choose him as he chooses you everyday. Rejoice in your shortcomings as he does because it’s an incredible opportunity to show what he can do! Don’t shame yourself because he isn’t shaming you. Don’t devalue yourself because you are more valuable to him than anything you can imagine. He died for you and released you of any debts. This is really who you are. Not the sum of your past, present or future shortcomings. You’re simply a daughter or son of a father who will never ever walk away from you. That’s the truth.
