Keep Your Identity in Christ

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But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified]. (John 1:12-13, AMP)

I think one of the top two greatest secrets to a joy-filled life is keeping your identity in Christ. If I place my identity in anything but Christ I will be disappointed. Everything else will cause me to lose my joy at some point in time.

  • If I put my identity in what I do, I’ll lose joy when I’m called to do something new.
  • If I put my identity in what I look like, I’ll lose my joy when my looks change.
  • If I put my identity in my children, I’ll lose joy when they do something that I don’t agree with or when they leave home.
  • If I put my identity in my performance, I’ll lose joy when I’m not performing well.
  • If I put my identity in how much money I can make, I’ll lose joy when that money ceases to bring me satisfaction.
  • If I put my identity in my achievements, my joy will flee when I’m not getting recognition for a new achievement.
  • If I put my identity in my marriage, my joy will disappear when my spouse says something hurtful.
  • If I put my identity in my church, I’ll lose my joy when someone in the church hurts me.
  • The only thing that brings a steadfast joy in this life is having a sole identity in Christ.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

He is the only thing that doesn’t change. My stuff will get old. There will be a day my children move out. There will come a time when my achievements have just collected dust. Nothing on this earth lasts forever.

In fact, I’ve noticed the times when I let the cares of this world occupy my heart. I’ve noticed when I’ve displaced Jesus and given over the throne of my heart to things going on around me. Those things tend to choke out my joy. I must always leave Christ on the throne of my heart, not my concerns, not my worries, not my anxieties, and not my expectations. I must become less so that Christ can become more in me.

Dear Father God, Please help me to identify where I have placed my identity in anything but Christ. Please help me to see where I have let other things occupy the throne of my heart. I surrender. Lord, my joy is only found in Jesus! May I live to serve You alone and become more Christlike with every passing day as I find my identity in the only One who will never change!

He sees you

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Mother’s day. (sigh)

Wait, sweet friend, before you scroll, swipe, or click away. I have a couple of questions for you.

Is this day a painful reminder of what you’ve lost?

Do you feel hopeless, forgotten, invisible, or abandoned?

Do you know, you’re not the only one who feels this way? I promise you are not alone.

I know, for many, Mothers day is full of celebration, honor, hope, and much JOY. If you’re in that season, I am rejoicing with you! On the contrary, if you answered yes to the previous questions and what you are feeling is a sense of dread, hopelessness, loss, fear, abandonment, anger, and grief, I grieve with you.

There’s a myriad of scenarios and life stages that have the potential to make this Mother’s day bittersweet for you, if not just bitter entirely. You see, Mothers day hasn’t always held joy for me. For many years all I felt was the pain.  

I recall getting ready for church on Mother’s day every year and having to push beyond the tears to even walk through the doors. I swore if Pastor spoke one more time about Hannah I would drop kick him. (very Christian of me, I know!)

Year after year, the same scene would play out. I’d sit there in service feeling as though a spotlight of heat was on me and everyone saw my pain and pitied me.

I feared their questions. Did they wonder what was wrong with me or what I had done that God hadn’t given me a child yet? I always wished I could just crawl in some hole for the day or find a greater reason to stay home entirely. (as if all of that wasn’t reason enough)

I wondered often if God could even hear me, see me, and did he really know what was best or was I being punished? I wanted desperately to be seen by God yet I only felt naked to the world. How is it that one can feel naked and invisible at the same time?

To the enemy, your pain is an easy target. He aims to hit you where it hurts.  For me, every pregnant woman was an opportunity that the enemy used to remind me of how inadequate I must be, how undeserving, and how defective I was. 

Was I invisible to God? This was the question that burned deeply through pain, searing it to my soul. Having given into the enemies lies, his words became my own. Muttering them under my breath, thoughts of them would run rampant through my days and I became what I believed.

I found myself so broken, wounded at my own hand and my fractured soul hurt those around me.

Maybe you’ve never walked through the deep waters of loss, infertility or grief. Perhaps you only recognize my words by the way someone else has treated you. Then there are others of you and this is partially your story. Maybe you are thinking about how I must have read your mail!

If you find yourself on the “waiting” side of life, I’ve been there and friend, I hope you can believe me when I say it won’t always be unclear. One day you’ll be looking back too. 

When I look back over all the pain of what I felt were wasted years, I see things so differently. Now glancing at the entrusted story of my life through his eyes, I recognize where he carried me and understand how it shaped me. I can see how all the pain made preparation for my breakthroughs and are now area’s of strength.

I’ve heard it said something like this…

Our area of greatest weakness is actually our area of greatest strength and influence, still in process. 

Thank you JESUS!

I understand now His name, El Roi, “The God who sees me”.  I come to you today to share His hope. He sees YOU!  It’s in his name, his nature, and who he is. 

So I’ve come to know and understand that when I feel the most alone in my grief, God is there and holds every single moment. El Roi, He sees ME! His hands, wet with my tears, lifts my chin and tells me who I am. He tells me that I am worthy, chosen, whole, beautiful, loved and restored! God has broken through the hurt and erased the words carved by pain.

Those who sow their tears as seeds

will reap a harvest with joyful shouts of glee. Psalm 126:5 (TPT)

Have you sown your tears as seeds? Or have your tears merely made the ground wet and your feet muddy?

The only place your tears can be sown as seeds is at the feet of Jesus. Will you come with me there?

I’d love for you to pray this prayer with me.

Father God,

Thank you for always seeing me. For catching every single tear that falls from my face. Thank you for knowing what my heart needs most, this is you. Father, forgive me when I’ve questioned your love because you had me wait or your answer was no. Grant me the desires of my heart as you’ve given them to me. In asking, I trust your timing, your plan and your purpose in it all. Through my pain I will praise you, in each sorrow I’ll lift up your name. For you alone are my refuge and my strength. You are my reward. Amen

I believe this video will encourage your heart this Mother’s day.

https://youtu.be/sz81dIfwf4Y

You Are Radiant

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Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.

Psalm 34:5  ESV

 

Radiant. What a word. David, the author of the Psalms, did not use the word beautiful, joyful, or even happy. He used radiant. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, radiant is defined as:

radiant

adjective | ra·di·ant  | \ˈrā-dē-ənt\

1a: radiating rays or reflecting beams of light
1b: vividly bright and shining : glowing
2: marked by or expressive of love, confidence, or happiness

a radiant smile

3a : emitted or transmitted by radiation
3b : emitting or relating to radiant heat

 

My favorite definition of radiant is “vividly bright and shining : glowing.” It gives a glowing visual of the way we all will be in heaven, and on top of that, Christ promises to make us like that now! He will enable us to radiate to the world around us, and through that, people will see that we have hope in Jesus Christ. For we, as Christ followers, are not looking to this world, our families, or even to our careers, but to Christ!

Through Isaiah 40:31, Jehovah-Jireh (“The Lord Will Provide”) gives us a promise when we hope in Him: “For those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they will soar on wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary, they will run and not grow faint.” He promises to take care of us when we hope in Him! We are constantly surrounded by all the promises he gives us and all we have to do is to accept them!

So as you run your race throughout the day, remember to hope in the Lord and that He will make your face RADIANT!

Love,

Isabella

The Greatest Expectation

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My heart is full with hope and expectation!  Filled to overflowing.

I caught a glimpse of heaven
and I don’t want to let it go.

I know it might seem trivial or even completely off-base to some, but The P.T. Barnum-inspired movie musical The Greatest Showman is full of powerful insights if you’re looking for them.

Barnum’s ticket to success was using his human ability to bring his imaginative impossibilities to life. For him, this would provide his audiences some joy and an escape from the drudgery of everyday life (and provide an income for his family). But it ended up doing more than that. The “circus” he created overwhelmed and flooded the senses of his audiences beyond their wildest expectations in light of seeing the unimaginable come to life. That feeling of amazement in seeing and feeling the spectacular makes your heart pound. Being surrounded by the impossible – It leaves you speechless. In awe and wonder. That, my friend, is what we are headed for!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

1 Cor. 2:9 NLT

And the message gets even better in the film. All those who had been hidden away in shame and darkness were able to come out and find their value and purpose. That was for the movie characters. But what about us? Those of us who are broken. Who have lived with secrets and shame. The flawed and imperfect. We have value in Christ. We find our purpose in Him. And there’s more – as He brings us out into the light of truth and grace, we find healing and wholeness. Everything we have lacked, is freely given to us.

My friends, when we accept the concept of seeing the impossible become reality and then find ourselves included in the impossible, we get a glimpse of what heaven is going to be like. All of our wildest dreams are going to come true in Him – the fullness of everything we’ve been waiting for and ever dared to hope for, the King of Glory! Every tribe, every nation will be represented before His throne. Everyone will bring their best, their differences, their scars, their everything and find it completely perfected in Him (Rev. 7:9). Can you even begin to imagine how mind-blowing this is going to be?

The reflection of God,
expressed through humanity,
completely perfected in Him.

 

This is a day I can hardly wait for!

But here’s why it matters right now. In the “Lord’s Prayer,” Jesus teaches us that we are to be praying for God’s will to be done here on earth just like it is in heaven. Do you see, Dear One? We can dare to believe the impossible is coming because it really truly is. What are you looking for? What impossible things are you dreaming of, that God can start living out through you just because you’re simply willing to believe. Wait in eager expectation for Him and watch how He shows you impossible things. Things He has desire to accomplish through you. The things He planned from before the creation of the world (Eph. 2:10). They are already starting to come true because you believe He is who He says He is and can do what He promises He will do.

“God will make this happen, for He who calls you is faithful.”
1 Thes. 5:24 NLT

When you see it – let your heart swell. Recognize it! Revel in it with the greatest expectation of what He has yet to do.

So what impossible thing has He called you to today? Withholding judgement so that you can extend some grace in that family situation? Self-control with that little one who already needs one more reminder? Maybe it’s a good attitude when the project is running behind deadline. Or perhaps it a mountain you’ve been buried under for years and you’re just trying to hang on to the will to keep going. You aren’t alone. Keep your eyes on your Father and as you step out in faith, look for the impossible to become your reality. I dare you to join me in dreaming with our eyes wide open!

Love,

 

Plug into the Power

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For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as the division of the soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12, AMP)

Thank you for walking with me through this series of 7 Keys to a Joy-Filled Life. I’ve really enjoyed sharing my heart with you on this subject. If this series has impacted you in some way, I would love to hear about it. I’m working on another series that I hope to offer you in a few weeks.

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