This post is part of the Monthly Theme of Identity in Christ. Here we are replacing the Lies of the enemy with the Truth of Christ.
I have been lied to.
Most likely…you have been to.
For my entire life, the enemy has whispered falsehoods and counterfeits of the Truth God has for me.
It is time I take a stand and begin to marinate in the truth…to allow it to permeate every fiber of my being and never let go.
It is time you take a stand too.
This month, I will focus my posts on the Theme of Identity and learning who we are in Christ and who He has created us to be. I am excited to dive in deep with you this month and I hope you will follow along on Instagram and in our Private Facebook Group so you can catch all He has for you!
Replacing the Lies with Truth
Lie #1 – I Am What I Do
I am not a photographer. I am not a blogger. I am not a stay-at-home mom.
I am a Child of God. I am a Daughter of the King and that makes me a Princess. I am a Follower of Christ.
“Any change in what we do can easily trigger a crisis of identity — what is the story we are now to tell others about ourselves? While I think this is true for men, I think it is different, and perhaps more pronounced, for women because our productivity choices are scrutinized more often than those of men.
That’s why the most divisive terms may be the dreaded “working mothers” versus “stay at home mothers.” If it were a simple description of the location of female productivity, that would be one thing. But these phrases are loaded with guilt and judgment.”
–Excerpt from Desiring God Website
Without a firm grasp on our true Identity in Christ, we will get caught up in a comparison game that has no end. We will compete for more in our jobs, we will covet the things others have because we are insecure in our own position, and we will be lost completely if we lose that very thing we have placed all of our identity into.
1 Timothy 6:6-7 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.”
“This is the identity we need to affirm among ourselves, not the labels that come with the kind of labor we do. As Christians, we are to be grounded in this identity, even as we add other roles and ways to express that identity in relationship to others.
We might have an interesting job for a season. We might be married for a season. We might have children at home for a season. But those things can be taken away from us — or never given to us at all. They are gifts for this life only.
Jesus has promised that if we choose to sit at his feet, we have made the best choice of all. We will inherit the better portion, that which will never be taken away: a relationship with God, his word, and the promise of eternal rewards and life with him in heaven.”
–Excerpt from Desiring God Website
Lie #2 – I Was a Mistake
It is incredible to me how so many of us can believe that our very existence was a mistake. Even when we know that we were very much loved and wanted as a child, we can believe that our conception slipped by God and we were that uh-oh He never intended.
Um…hello, have I even read these words? How could I possibly think so little of me, when He thinks so highly!
Psalm 139:14-18 The Passion Translation (TPT)
“I thank you, God, for making me so mysteriously complex!
Everything you do is marvelously breathtaking.
It simply amazes me to think about it!
How thoroughly you know me, Lord!
You even formed every bone in my body when you created me in the secret place,
carefully, skillfully shaping me from nothing to something.
You saw who you created me to be before I became me!Before I’d ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me
were already recorded in your book.Every single moment you are thinking of me!
How precious and wonderful to consider that you cherish me constantly in your every thought!
O God, your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on every shore!
When I awake each morning, you’re still with me.”
Now, don’t just skim over these words! Go back and read them again if you did!! Seriously, even if you read them thoroughly, go back and read them again out loud! I want you to hear these words and take them to heart! This truth is for you!!! How about one more time…read it once again with your name in every spot it is appropriate! Go ahead…I can wait!
I love this line with my name in it…You saw who you created Kelli to be before Kelli became Kelli. That is just precious! Don’t you love reading it with your name in it?
I am not a mistake. I am not an accident. I am not that accidental sperm that made it through the barrier. Whether your conception was planned by your parents, unplanned out of wedlock, a result of rape, a miracle that no one believed would ever happen…whatever it was…your life was planned by God.
Ephesians 1:4-6 from the Passion Translation says it beautifully:
“And he chose us to be his very own, joining us to himself even before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence.
For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace—for the same love he has for his Beloved One, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure!”
Lie #3 – My Life Has No Purpose
Ephesians 1:11 says this, “Through our union with Christ we too have been claimed by God as his own inheritance. Before we were even born, he gave us our destiny; that we would fulfill the plan of God who always accomplishes every purpose and plan in his heart.” (TPT)
So if the lie that we have believed is that our life has no purpose…we can easily see here that the truth is God has given us a destiny…and we are part of His plan…and that plan is straight from His heart.
How could anything from the heart of God not be beautiful, and hopeful, and lovely, and full of purpose?
When I believe that my life has no purpose, I am agreeing with the enemy whose chief job is to create doubt, unbelief, and fear in the hearts of God’s children. By, stating the truth of God’s intention for my life over and over again, I can squash the enemy’s lies under my feet.
So, once again…let’s read this passage with our own name inserted in it. I am going to write mine out here so you know I am doing this too!
Through Kelli’s union with Christ, Kelli has been claimed by God as His own inheritance. Before Kelli was even born, He gave Kelli her destiny; that Kelli would fulfill the plan of God who accomplishes every purpose and plan in his heart.
Seriously…does that not change everything?? When I read it that way, guess what happens?? All of a sudden it is not the writer of the passage, Paul, that I am relating to…it is God Himself. And I see this as mine and mine alone! Kelli has been claimed as God’s inheritance!!! Not Gold. Not Diamonds. Kelli!!!
I would love to see this written with your name in the comments!! Own this girl!!
Lie #4 – I Need to be Perfect
How many times have we felt like we needed to clean up our act before we come to God. The enemy does not want us to believe that God can handle our anger, our bitterness, our sin…but, what a LIE that is!! Jesus took on my sin (and yours too)…died…and conquered the grave. He is not afraid of our messy.
One truth that I have found so tangibly during my time of grieving our sweet Lily has been that God is in the messy. God is in my broken heart. God is in my anger. God is in my grief. There is nowhere that I can go emotionally or physically that He is not there with me.
If He left me alone when I was at my worst…He would not be the God I know Him to be.
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it was only through this wonderful grace that we believed in him. Nothing we did could ever earn this salvation, for it was the gracious gift from God that brought us to Christ! So no one will ever be able to boast, for salvation is never a reward for good works or human striving.”
So, if I try to be perfect…that will not earn my salvation. There is absolutely nothing I can do GOOD or BAD that could earn my salvation or keep me from salvation. I have been given a gift and I must cherish that!
Paul says in Galatians 2:21, “So that is why I don’t view God’s grace as something minor or peripheral. For if keeping the law could release God’s righteousness to us, the Anointed One would have died for nothing.” Oh, happy day…again, I can’t take on the responsibility to save myself by striving for perfection! If I try to do that…then I am saying my perfection is more important than Christ’s death…or even worse, that His death was unnecessary!
Do you know how freeing it is to lay down perfection!! VERY!
Repeat after me, “Jesus is perfect and I do not have to be perfect to receive salvation. Jesus conquered the grave so that I could have friendship with Him and be brought back to my Heavenly Father. Jesus can handle my messy. There is not one emotion that I can experience that He can not handle. I do not have to hide what I think are the ugly parts of me from Him. He sees them and He loves me anyway. Thank you, Jesus, for your truth!”
Hallelujah!
I hope that these truths will bless you as you marinate on them and read them over and over! I have a few Truth Sheets I want to share with you in my Resource Library! I hope that they will bless you as much as they have me! Print them out and write in your name and tape them on the bathroom mirror! Every morning, recite them over yourself! Do this for at least 21 days and I promise…they will drop from that gorgeous head of yours down into your heart!
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