So tonight, at college group, we talked about Identity. Do you know who you are? OR is who you are lead by LIES, SELF-DOUBT & FEAR?? That's how my life is lead. But I'm ready to change that. The question is are You?
Let me start out by repeating what Dan & Jamie said : Don't give your insecurities, your fears, your past hinder your relationship with others. If you let these things rule your life...you're not going to be able to build strong relationships because there will be walls blocking the way. Leave them behind and start a clean slate when building lasting relationships. It's not easy by any means...but it's possible.
~LIES~
Has anyone ever told you:
You're ugly
You're worthless
You're not worthy of love
You're going to end up just like _______ (someone who's life has gone astray)
You're just average
You're really not good at ________ (something you may have a passion for)
You're weird (in a negative way)
You're really not as good as _________ (an older sibling, a younger sibling, a bestfriend...)
(the list goes on....)
If they have, you know what? THEY ARE WRONG! These are lies what can be (and probably are) rooted in our lives...feeding off our thoughts and steering our thoughts and actions in directions they may not normally go. If you're reading this you can probably think of some examples of lies that have taken root in your life. You can change your life around by identifying these lies in your life and bringing them to our Father in heaven and placing them at His feet. Make conversation with Him and start rebuking these lies. 'Cause a lie can only affect you if you believe it. And never take off the full armor of God, because as Ephesians 6:16 says, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
No matter what people say about us...God is still there waving our flag...cheering at the sidelines for us! Romans 8:35-37 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
'For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
~SELF-DOUBT~
Nothing really stuck out to me in this category...except for this phrase. "Don't be afraid to take risks!" Pretty much...get out of your comfort zone. From a guy being too shy to ask a girl out to moving across the country to go to college. Make a move...you can neither fail or succeed if you stay in your little box of familiarity. And either way you'll learn something you can take with you throughout life.
~FEAR~ (a.k.a. False.Evidence.Appearing.Real.)
2nd Timothy 1:7 says, "For the Lord did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of self-disciple[sound mind]."
We all have fears: be them as trivial as spiders or as big as death or failure.
Most of us are constantly afraid of what others think of us (me included). But why? Why do we care about not matching the current fads or fitting into the latest cliques? Do you ever look at an interesting shirt or a new pair of jeans and think, "I could never pull that off, I'd look like a dork." Well, who makes you think that? God definitely didnt whisper in your ear..."That looks dumb." So it must have been a worldly thing. Are you going to let fear, man, or God guide your steps? If you let God do the leading...one of the things you'll get out of the deal is boldness. You won't care what others say about you, you'll buy that wild outfit, (guys
you'll ask out that girl! Life will be alot more fun and productive with God in the driver's seat. You'll accomplish things people had always told you were not possible in your situation. There will be less stress and more time for happiness.
I'm just saying:
Do you know who you are?
or
Do you know who you want to be?
Maybe you could spend sometime this week in reflection and conversation with God about what lies you want to shrug off. What truths you are looking forward to embracing?
Love you all!
Hats off to you if you read all that! <3 <3
[this is kinda related to Shiningthrupain's post about Identity...but with a different spin...sorry if it's repetitive.]
Let me start out by repeating what Dan & Jamie said : Don't give your insecurities, your fears, your past hinder your relationship with others. If you let these things rule your life...you're not going to be able to build strong relationships because there will be walls blocking the way. Leave them behind and start a clean slate when building lasting relationships. It's not easy by any means...but it's possible.
~LIES~
Has anyone ever told you:
You're ugly
You're worthless
You're not worthy of love
You're going to end up just like _______ (someone who's life has gone astray)
You're just average
You're really not good at ________ (something you may have a passion for)
You're weird (in a negative way)
You're really not as good as _________ (an older sibling, a younger sibling, a bestfriend...)
(the list goes on....)
If they have, you know what? THEY ARE WRONG! These are lies what can be (and probably are) rooted in our lives...feeding off our thoughts and steering our thoughts and actions in directions they may not normally go. If you're reading this you can probably think of some examples of lies that have taken root in your life. You can change your life around by identifying these lies in your life and bringing them to our Father in heaven and placing them at His feet. Make conversation with Him and start rebuking these lies. 'Cause a lie can only affect you if you believe it. And never take off the full armor of God, because as Ephesians 6:16 says, "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."
No matter what people say about us...God is still there waving our flag...cheering at the sidelines for us! Romans 8:35-37 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
'For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.'
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."
~SELF-DOUBT~
Nothing really stuck out to me in this category...except for this phrase. "Don't be afraid to take risks!" Pretty much...get out of your comfort zone. From a guy being too shy to ask a girl out to moving across the country to go to college. Make a move...you can neither fail or succeed if you stay in your little box of familiarity. And either way you'll learn something you can take with you throughout life.
~FEAR~ (a.k.a. False.Evidence.Appearing.Real.)
2nd Timothy 1:7 says, "For the Lord did not give you a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of self-disciple[sound mind]."
We all have fears: be them as trivial as spiders or as big as death or failure.
Most of us are constantly afraid of what others think of us (me included). But why? Why do we care about not matching the current fads or fitting into the latest cliques? Do you ever look at an interesting shirt or a new pair of jeans and think, "I could never pull that off, I'd look like a dork." Well, who makes you think that? God definitely didnt whisper in your ear..."That looks dumb." So it must have been a worldly thing. Are you going to let fear, man, or God guide your steps? If you let God do the leading...one of the things you'll get out of the deal is boldness. You won't care what others say about you, you'll buy that wild outfit, (guys
you'll ask out that girl! Life will be alot more fun and productive with God in the driver's seat. You'll accomplish things people had always told you were not possible in your situation. There will be less stress and more time for happiness.I'm just saying:
Do you know who you are?
or
Do you know who you want to be?
Maybe you could spend sometime this week in reflection and conversation with God about what lies you want to shrug off. What truths you are looking forward to embracing?
Love you all!
Hats off to you if you read all that! <3 <3
[this is kinda related to Shiningthrupain's post about Identity...but with a different spin...sorry if it's repetitive.]
