I feel like I have always been quiet; always been shy, semi-unnoticed, and definitely not brave especially in social situations. But, I know that isn’t true, I wasn’t always like this.
I was a loud, proud, brave little girl. I would literally stand on tables to make announcements and be heard. I loved to be on stage, I would walk up to strangers and ask for money for my college fund. I was full of smiles, willing to try anything, and I knew that I was special just because I was me. But somewhere in between then and now I lost that part of me. The part of me that believed I was capable of anything.
The world told me that I was too confident, I was too loud, I wasn’t as good as I thought, I had too much of an opinion, my style was too eclectic, and that I had no reason to be proud. My name became twisted, and instead of being the bright, mesmerizing sunrise that my mom had named me after, I became stuck up, opinionated, annoying, weird, loud, unwanted. The saddest part is not even what my name turned into, but how I allowed it to define me. I started off being cautious about what I said, about how I shared things with, cautious about what I wore. I began to crave being at home, or by myself because it seemed so much safer. Pretty soon I had changed from the girl who would stand on tables to the girl who would rather sit underneath them. The brave, confident, beautiful girl left, and in her place was a scared, shy, anti-social, lonely, cautious girl who began to believe that she was mediocre, average, and unnoticed in a sea of people.
My loneliness that I acquired from situations and people in my life caused me to become defined by it. I was no longer who I was created to be, instead I was a fragile shell of myself. I began to believe that my opinion didn’t matter, that no one cared to know how I was feeling or what I thought. I had let my words and beliefs become insignificant and easily changed. Pretty soon, the only people who knew what I thought (some of the time) were my closest friends, my family, or the people who happened to be around when I found something I was so passionate about that it outweighed the lack of confidence and fear. I allowed fear of man and fear of culture to define me, I began to believe the lies, and eventually I allowed those lies to change my personality, and determine my value and worth.
Here is the truth.
I am a daughter of the King. My Father is the God of the angel armies, Creator of the world as we know it, and Defender of all people. He created me intentionally; He knows all of my personality quirks, my likes and dislikes. He knows that I prefer 2% milk, how much cream I like in my coffee, how I can get lost in a book and lose an entire day, He knows that I love to travel but love coming back to Canada more, He knows that I am not super creative but love all forms of art. He knows that I am passionate about politics, that I love to serve, and Disney movies are the way to my heart – along with good food, of course.
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.” Psalm 139:1-4
My God is who defines me, because He is the one who made me. It is not my past that defines me, but the future that He has intended for me. He does not see me as I am now, but He sees me two billion years into eternity in my resurrected body that is clothed in His Glory, and He is calling me to walk in that identity.
I went to a women’s conference this weekend, and volunteered through most of it. I wasn’t really expecting God to encounter me this weekend. I figured that I would be busy running around, distracted, and to be honest, I wasn’t really searching for it. I have been in this night season for so long; only hearing from Him sometimes, not really encountering Him, fighting for hunger, fighting for righteousness, but barely hanging on. I had grown so used to the radio silence that I didn’t expect encounter, grace, and revelation to come so effortlessly. It was like it was downloaded into me when I was least expecting it, but it has sparked something larger than me or who I used to be.
Here is what I know.
“She is more precious than rubies.”
My worth in God’s eyes is without earthly compare. He called me to walk in confidence, proud of the identity that He gave me. Although He has called us all to meekness, He has not called us to false humility. So often I think we misunderstand humility. The best way I have ever heard it said is, humility is NOT thinking less of yourself, but rather, thinking of yourself less. Jesus was the most humble man to ever walk the earth, but He stood confident and proud in His identity. He spoke truth even when it was counter cultural, and He has called all of us to the same identity.
I am loved. He has called me to break off false humility, to step out from under a spirit of loneliness. He has called me into my royal identity. He has been crying out for me to claim my heritage, my destiny; to boldly, and confidently walk in my true identity. As a daughter of a King, a bride of the Lamb, in right standing to inherit the Kingdom. He is calling me to confidence.
And He is calling all of you as well; calling you into the fullness that He has planned for you. To read from the book that He had written out for you before you were born. He is raising up a generation of people who love him without reservation. A generation that is not hindered by a wrong view of themselves. A generation that is brave enough, bold enough, and confident enough in who they are to walk out a clear, bold, and honest path towards Him.
For so long, we have let the enemy tell us who we are, stop us from claiming our true identity, from walking out our prophetic destinies, and we need to stop letting Him win. God has called each of us for a purpose. And this is how you can start walking in it.
We need to start reclaiming our identity, earnestly seeking the promises that have been written over our lives, and begin walking confidently down the path that God has set before you. Don’t miss any more opportunities to live for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Don’t live hiding under tables any longer. Don’t live with the all the revelation God has given you hidden away. Don’t live in fear. Your God is so much bigger than any obstacle you will ever face. Just like David, don’t look at how big the giant before you is. Look behind that giant at how big your God is, and how much He loves you and advocates for you.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson
♥ A
I was a loud, proud, brave little girl. I would literally stand on tables to make announcements and be heard. I loved to be on stage, I would walk up to strangers and ask for money for my college fund. I was full of smiles, willing to try anything, and I knew that I was special just because I was me. But somewhere in between then and now I lost that part of me. The part of me that believed I was capable of anything.
The world told me that I was too confident, I was too loud, I wasn’t as good as I thought, I had too much of an opinion, my style was too eclectic, and that I had no reason to be proud. My name became twisted, and instead of being the bright, mesmerizing sunrise that my mom had named me after, I became stuck up, opinionated, annoying, weird, loud, unwanted. The saddest part is not even what my name turned into, but how I allowed it to define me. I started off being cautious about what I said, about how I shared things with, cautious about what I wore. I began to crave being at home, or by myself because it seemed so much safer. Pretty soon I had changed from the girl who would stand on tables to the girl who would rather sit underneath them. The brave, confident, beautiful girl left, and in her place was a scared, shy, anti-social, lonely, cautious girl who began to believe that she was mediocre, average, and unnoticed in a sea of people.
My loneliness that I acquired from situations and people in my life caused me to become defined by it. I was no longer who I was created to be, instead I was a fragile shell of myself. I began to believe that my opinion didn’t matter, that no one cared to know how I was feeling or what I thought. I had let my words and beliefs become insignificant and easily changed. Pretty soon, the only people who knew what I thought (some of the time) were my closest friends, my family, or the people who happened to be around when I found something I was so passionate about that it outweighed the lack of confidence and fear. I allowed fear of man and fear of culture to define me, I began to believe the lies, and eventually I allowed those lies to change my personality, and determine my value and worth.
Here is the truth.
I am a daughter of the King. My Father is the God of the angel armies, Creator of the world as we know it, and Defender of all people. He created me intentionally; He knows all of my personality quirks, my likes and dislikes. He knows that I prefer 2% milk, how much cream I like in my coffee, how I can get lost in a book and lose an entire day, He knows that I love to travel but love coming back to Canada more, He knows that I am not super creative but love all forms of art. He knows that I am passionate about politics, that I love to serve, and Disney movies are the way to my heart – along with good food, of course.
“O Lord, You have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down, and are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there is a word on my tongue, Behold, O Lord, You know it all.” Psalm 139:1-4
My God is who defines me, because He is the one who made me. It is not my past that defines me, but the future that He has intended for me. He does not see me as I am now, but He sees me two billion years into eternity in my resurrected body that is clothed in His Glory, and He is calling me to walk in that identity.
I went to a women’s conference this weekend, and volunteered through most of it. I wasn’t really expecting God to encounter me this weekend. I figured that I would be busy running around, distracted, and to be honest, I wasn’t really searching for it. I have been in this night season for so long; only hearing from Him sometimes, not really encountering Him, fighting for hunger, fighting for righteousness, but barely hanging on. I had grown so used to the radio silence that I didn’t expect encounter, grace, and revelation to come so effortlessly. It was like it was downloaded into me when I was least expecting it, but it has sparked something larger than me or who I used to be.
Here is what I know.
“She is more precious than rubies.”
My worth in God’s eyes is without earthly compare. He called me to walk in confidence, proud of the identity that He gave me. Although He has called us all to meekness, He has not called us to false humility. So often I think we misunderstand humility. The best way I have ever heard it said is, humility is NOT thinking less of yourself, but rather, thinking of yourself less. Jesus was the most humble man to ever walk the earth, but He stood confident and proud in His identity. He spoke truth even when it was counter cultural, and He has called all of us to the same identity.
I am loved. He has called me to break off false humility, to step out from under a spirit of loneliness. He has called me into my royal identity. He has been crying out for me to claim my heritage, my destiny; to boldly, and confidently walk in my true identity. As a daughter of a King, a bride of the Lamb, in right standing to inherit the Kingdom. He is calling me to confidence.
And He is calling all of you as well; calling you into the fullness that He has planned for you. To read from the book that He had written out for you before you were born. He is raising up a generation of people who love him without reservation. A generation that is not hindered by a wrong view of themselves. A generation that is brave enough, bold enough, and confident enough in who they are to walk out a clear, bold, and honest path towards Him.
For so long, we have let the enemy tell us who we are, stop us from claiming our true identity, from walking out our prophetic destinies, and we need to stop letting Him win. God has called each of us for a purpose. And this is how you can start walking in it.
- Claim it. Actually say it out loud. Remind yourself. Call out those qualities that God has placed in you, and walk confidently in the gifts He has given you. If you don’t know what they are, ask the people around you. They have an unhindered view of your strengths.
- Don’t let your emotions or feelings of hurt dictate who you are. As I said before, you are NOT defined or shaped by the things you go through. The Lord redeems, He restores (meaning He makes it better than before), and because God loved you so much that He didn't die for you but instead sent His OWN Son to die for you, You are a NEW CREATION. The old is gone.
- Take a stand to walk with good posture. Hold your head high, back straight. God has created you to excel, so don’t hold yourself back.
- Remember that what you have done does not define you, only God defines you, and He has only one definition. The one He created before you were born, when He saw the perfect plan that He would have you walk that would get you to that completely sanctified person in the glorified, redeemed body in eternity.
- Most importantly, you are valued and loved, people care about what you have to say, your opinion matters, your voice was given to you for a reason, and even if it’s counter cultural, your life is significant.
We need to start reclaiming our identity, earnestly seeking the promises that have been written over our lives, and begin walking confidently down the path that God has set before you. Don’t miss any more opportunities to live for the advancement of the Kingdom of God. Don’t live hiding under tables any longer. Don’t live with the all the revelation God has given you hidden away. Don’t live in fear. Your God is so much bigger than any obstacle you will ever face. Just like David, don’t look at how big the giant before you is. Look behind that giant at how big your God is, and how much He loves you and advocates for you.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Marianne Williamson
♥ A
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