Who (Whose) Are You? - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Who (Whose) Are You?

Now Think On This

Steve Martin

“I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works,

and that my soul knows very well.” (Psalm 139:14, NKJV)

Struggling with self-image is quite common in all nations. We strive to live up to the perfected images blasted out through social media, television, magazines, radio and newspapers. If we aren’t the “perfect” specimen, then we have a problem. Or we “are a problem” and unacceptable. Right?

Aren’t you far too often made to believe that - daily, continually, until you actually believe it, and think it must be true? It doesn’t matter if you are 10, 17, 25, 48 or 63. Or even the golden age of 82 and beyond. We have all struggled with not being accepted, but rejected, for who we are. Or who we are made to believe we are not.

We all are so bombarded with what is the “norm”, that we lose all matter of reality, and Whose we really are.

We each for sure have had a degrading parent, a demanding boss, a deliberate, insecure person in leadership who believes they know who we are and what we should be. They have asked the question so pointedly to us, either out loud or silently to themselves and others around us, “Why can’t you live up to the expectation and perfection that I demand of you?”

How wearing on our soul that becomes. Not receiving the encouragement needed, but instead getting the regular dose of that which discourages us, which makes us feel and believe we are less than what we should be. As a human being no less.

But who is to be our judge? And who sets the so-called life standards? Who decides who is worth living, even from conception, or who can continue to live on?

“If you can’t function “normal” anymore, you are gone.”

Who has the authority and right perspective, taking all matters of judgment into being, in deciding if your very being is worth the very ground you stand on?

Here is the answer! Here is the One Who alone can, and will, decide who you are, who you were created to be, who you can be if your trust and confidence rest in Him.

Take this truth from the very one Who created you. Believe the One who knows all, sees all and will establish you in all.

“Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God — you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration — what a creation!

You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day.

Your thoughts — how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them!

I couldn't even begin to count them — any more than I could count the sand of the sea. Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!” (Psalm 139:13-18, THE MESSAGE)

Often I purposefully quote the Lord’s Word to myself, which declares, “my times are in Your hands.” It is He who decides the what, when, how, and so what in my life.

As He states so forthright in Psalm 31.

“You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness.

2 Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of refuge, a fortress of defense to save me.

3 For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake, Lead me and guide me. 4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. 5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

6 I have hated those who regard useless idols; but I trust in the Lord. 7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities,

8 And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.

9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble; my eye wastes away with grief, yes, my soul and my body! 10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

11 I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me. 12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel.

13 For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; while they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life.

14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord; I say, "You are my God."

15 My times are in Your hand; deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me. 16 Make Your face shine upon Your servant; save me for Your mercies' sake. 17 Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You; let the wicked be ashamed; let them be silent in the grave.

18 Let the lying lips be put to silence, which speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

19 Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men! 20 You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the plots of man; You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

21 Blessed be the Lord, for He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a strong city! 22 For I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before Your eyes"; nevertheless, You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to You.

23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, and fully repays the proud person.

24 Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the Lord.” (NKJV)

Yes, we have the One Who will preserve us, Who will strengthen our heart; Whom we can place our hope in and know that He Who is faithful will always be faithful.

Be assured today, that whatever, whoever comes against you, that your Creator stands with you, and will see you to the end.

Thank You, Jesus. We love You, Yeshua.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

   

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

  

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Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) Please share Now Think On This with your friends. Steve Martin

Now Think On This - in the Year of our Lord 08.13.17 - #306 – “Who (Whose) Are You?” – Sunday 5:35 am

Breaking Free From the Spirit of Inferiority - J. LEE GRADY CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Do you live under the spirit of inferiority? (iStock photo )

Breaking Free From the Spirit of Inferiority

8/24/2016 J. LEE GRADY  CHARISMA MAGAZINE

I grew up in the South, where football is a religion. Every boy I knew dreamed of becoming a star quarterback. When my relatives gathered for meals, the conversation usually revolved around whether Auburn would beat Alabama this year.

I felt like sliding under my chair during those moments. I was not a football player—and there was no chance of me becoming one. I didn't have big enough biceps to throw a 50-yard pass, and I didn't have the frame to tackle a 200-pound guy. I felt like a total wimp. I assumed that when God handed out physical talents, I was stuck at the back of the line.

Thankfully my lack of athletic skills didn't cripple me entirely. I had other abilities, like writing—and I ended up being the editor of my high school yearbook. But a cloud of inferiority followed me everywhere. No matter how successful I was in other areas, I branded myself a failure because I didn't measure up as an athlete.

It was only though the power of the Holy Spirit that I eventually overcame this painful sense of disqualification. But now I meet people every day who are slaves of inferiority. Some feel intellectually challenged; some struggle with a physical disability; others are terrified of speaking publicly because they are insecure about their appearance or weight. Others were bullied or abused, and the cruel words they heard on a playground or at the dinner table were stamped into their brains with a hot iron.

What about you? Do you find it difficult to describe your positive qualities? Are you haunted by labels that were pinned on you by parents, siblings, teachers or classmates? Were you ever called "stupid," "fatso," "dunce," "dork," "lazy," "slut," "queer" or the N-word? Words are like knives, and they can leave permanent scars. If inferiority is hindering you in your relationship with God and others, consider taking this journey toward healing:

1. Let God change your self-image. The Bible is full of stories of insecure people who ended up doing heroic things. God loves to use "powerless" people "to shame those who are powerful" (1 Cor. 1:27, NLT). Sarah was barren, yet God called her a mother of nations. Moses was a stutterer, yet God called him to confront Pharaoh. David was an embarrassment to his father before he became a king. If you feel inferior, you are in good company!

2. Bury the lies you've believed. False beliefs will not collapse without a fight. You must identify the lies you believe about yourself, and then renounce them. This is not something you can do alone; you must be willing to talk about your inferiority with a counselor, a pastor or trusted friends.

When I was in my 20s, I asked two friends to pray with me because I felt so inferior. This deep insecurity made me shy and fearful, but I wanted to be confident so that I could grow spiritually and discover my calling. That prayer meeting put me on a path toward full-time ministry that has taken me to 30 nations! I would have stayed in my prison of insecurity if those men had not helped me see that God had something important for me to do with my life.

3. Confess your new identity. Gideon felt like a weakling when the angel of the Lord came to him and announced: "The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior!" (Judges 6:12). At that point, Gideon was looking around and wondering, Who is this guy talking to?He did not believe he was a warrior! Yet God redefined Gideon's identity and eventually changed his name to Jerubbaal, which means (my paraphrase) "The devil is in trouble."

But it is not enough to simply believe in your heart that you are God's chosen instrument. You must boldly proclaim who you are now. Joel 3:10 declares: "Let the weak say, 'I am a mighty man.'" You must say it! If you were told you are a failure, say: "I am more than a conqueror." If you were told that you are fat and ugly, say: "I am my Beloved's, and His desire is for me" (Song 7:10). And keep saying it until you believe it!

4. Stop comparing yourself with others. At the core of sinful human nature is the desire to have what isn't ours. That's why one of the commandments God gave Moses was "Do not covet" (Ex. 20:17). We live in a culture that celebrates perfect beauty, athleticism, celebrity and wealth—and our media constantly reminds us of what we don't have by bombarding us with images (actually they are idols) of "perfect" people. Don't let those idols control you!

The media doesn't set the standard for us—God does. Instead of focusing on what you aren't, celebrate who God made you to be. If I had spent my life lamenting the fact that I couldn't make the football team, I would have never discovered the other talents God gave me.

5. Be filled with the Holy Spirit. You can never overcome mental strongholds of worthlessness and inferiority in your own strength. It is the Holy Spirit who changes us. Just as He convicts us of sin and purifies our motives, He also strips away the lies we have believed about ourselves and heals us from the words and experiences that crippled us. Ask Him to fill you so full that those lies can't hang around any longer.

If inferiority has gripped your soul, you can say this prayer now: "Lord, You are more powerful than any label that has ever been put on me. I renounce the lies that I have believed about myself. I am not weak; I am strong in You. I am not stupid; I have Your wisdom. I am not worthless; You died on the cross to redeem me. Thank You that because I am in Christ, I am a new creation. I am not bound by my old identity—I have a new identity in Jesus. Help me to see myself the way You see me—as Your beloved child and as a powerful, anointed, gifted disciple. Amen.

J. Lee Grady is the former editor of Charisma. You can follow him on Twitter at leegrady. He is the author of several books including 10 Lies the Church Tells Women, 10 Lies Men Believe, Fearless Daughters of the Bible and The Holy Spirit Is Not for Sale. You can learn more about his ministry, The Mordecai Project, atthemordecaiproject.org.

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