You Do Who?

"Have this attitude in your selves which was also in Christ Jesus," Philippians 2:5 (NAS)

Be yourself.  To thine own self be true.  You do you.

Sounds liberating, but is it really?  Is it Biblical?  If your identity is not firmly rooted in Christ, you'll waste your life trying in vain to find yourself and to be happy.  Learn who God says you are.  Surrender and submit your whole life to Him, and let Jesus live through you.  Read the entirety of Philippians chapter 2, or for that matter, the entirety of Philippians.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."  Galatians 2:20 (NAS)

Let God change your heart and your mind, and that will change your life.

Who Are You

"All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him."  Isaish 53:6 (NAS)

Society proceeds ever faster to renounce families, values, and culture, instead claiming false identities.  Embracing ethnicities, genders, and religions that aren't theirs.  Clinging to victim status when the trauma is long past or never truly existed.  Refusing to heal.  Abandoning civilized lifestyles to live like feral animals.

It's not mental illness.  It's spiritual illness.

It isn't confusion.  It's rebellion.

God blessed you with home, family, value, ethnicity, love, identity, purpose, healing, victory, community.  Not one person in the history of humanity has found a better way than God's.  Do you seriously believe you'll be the first?  Independence is a myth.  The sooner you let go of your arrogance, false humility, selfishness, and defiance, and submit to the interdependence God created you for, the better off we will all be.

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Joshua 24:15 (NAS)

How long will you rebel against the identity God gave you?  His grace and mercy are unlimited.  Your opportunities to grab hold of them are not.

Mustard Faith

"And He said to them, 'Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.'"  Matthew 17:20 (NAS)

This used to confuse me.  Jesus said their faith was too small, but also that they only needed a tiny amount?

It occurred to me that a mustard seed doesn't have the ability to wonder, worry, doubt, or fear.  A seed has no confusion about its identity or purpose, it's just programmed to sprout when it's planted, grow to maturity, and produce its fruit.

You are created by God, in His image, for a relationship with Him and with other people, to love and be loved, with a unique set of skills, interests, talents, and abilities, to cause good things to happen by doing the work He prepared for you to do, to overcome evil, and to find fulfillment in all of that.

When you embrace your identity as God's child, you have access to His authority, power, and protection.  You don't have to wonder whether you're worthy.  You're not, on your own; you are, because He said so.  That was the whole purpose of Jesus' earth time.

"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Abba! Father!'"  Romans 8:15 (NAS)

Are you a child of the King?  Live out that identity.

Joy in Trials

"Consider it all joy, my brethren, when when you encounter various trials," James 1:2 (NAS)

That's not really what I'm good at.  The Lord tells us to though, so here's how I work at it.

Pray first.  God already knows what's happening anyway, even if that includes me feeling upset with Him, so I might as well talk with Him about it.

Talk to somebody.  God is always there for us, and He gave us each other too.  While I'm at it, I might find someone in a similar situation to mine, or a more difficult one, and we can pray together, work together, or commiserate together.  Commiserating can be overdone though, and needs to be tempered with hope and gratitude.  A helpful conversation will end on an encouraging note.

Keep working.  Whatever is transpiring in my corner, the rest of the world goes on, and I need to go on with it.  There's a measure of joy in accomplishment.

Rest as needed.  Working can be overdone too.  Nobody needs preexisting trials exacerbated by burnout, resentment, or illness resulting from taking on too much.

Be thankful.  There are always more blessings than troubles.

"Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones,

And give thanks to His holy name.

For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning."  Psalm 30:4-5 (NAS)

Keep your chin up.

How do you consider it all joy when you encounter various trials?