Joel and I were watching Kris Vallotton preach online at Bethel the other night, and he shared a story about a period of time in his life when he was going through a tough battle. He went to speak to a person on the pastoral staff at Bethel church who listened intently as Kris poured out his heart. When he was finished speaking the pastor said to him, "I have a book I want you to read. It is a book that will speak to your situation." Kris said, "I will read anything if it will help." With that response the man gave him the title of the book, "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty". It is a book that Kris Valloton had written himself! Then this man said to Kris, "You have forgotten who you are. You have forgotten Whose you are. You are royalty. You are a son of the King."
This story is one I can relate to. Over the past 3 years God has been teaching me more and more about who I am. Whose I am. God wants us to know who we are in Christ because.... "We will always act out who we believe we are. .....When we know the name the Lord has given us, we can live out that identity. We tend to reproduce what we feast our thoughts on." These quotes are from the book. It is sitting on my end table.
What do we feast our thoughts on? Deep down inside who do we believe we are? What comes out of our mouth when we are struggling? Whose do we say we are? T he answers are found in what God speaks over us.
Bonnie Gray began to find healing from her abusive childhood, PTSD, and the panic attacks that came on as an adult, when she embraced who God said she was. His beloved. She has written a powerful book entitled, Finding Spiritual Whitespace, that is impacting thousands of lives because she listened and internalized who God said she was. She realized Whose she is. His beloved.
The journey is not always easy, but God does not want us to stay stuck in those places that cause us to lose sight of who we are. Maybe they began in childhood....maybe they began with what other people we loved spoke over us as adults. The lies whispered, the words manipulating and confusing, the emotional and physical pain inflicted. There is so much that can come against the true identity of who we are.
Or maybe it is what we speak over ourselves that limits us. There is a tendency out there to believe that as Christians we need to think of ourselves as lower than the lowest. That humility means degrading yourself or speaking only about what a sinful person you are. Maybe it is time to remember who lives in us. Who empowers us. Who calls us His beloved. The One who encourages us to look in the mirror and see how awesome we are because of Jesus.
Do we see ourselves as God sees us? Sons and daughters of the King? We are the redeemed. We are the forgiven. We are awesome....how can we not be when our Heavenly Father, the Lord Almighty delights in us! When Jesus lives in us and Holy Spirit empowers us!
It is Maunday Thursday. A time when Jesus brought together his disciples for the Lord's Supper. A time when the old covenant ended and the new covenant came to life with Jesus, his body....His blood shed for us. Let us, this day, remember who we are because of Jesus. Let's remember Whose we are. Sons and daughters of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord! To God be the glory.
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