(and then WAIT, and Listen for the Answer.)
Don't you love it when you are digging in to something, and suddenly, that 'something' is all around? It seems like out of the blue, everyone is talking about it... you see it show up wherever you go, in whatever you read or listen to or watch? I know there is a scientific name or phrase for it (Baader-Meinhof) but really, to me it is God pouring out confirmation...
For me, lately - it's been all about Identity.
~Who and Whose we are.
I have written about it all over this little corner of the interwebs and I will never ever stop shouting it from the mountain tops and whispering it soft into hair and hearts and tears... It is a vital message... and in order to answer the call to be real and live authentic and be vulnerable, well-- we simply must know who we are.
Too many of us... quite probably all of us -at one point or another- play act and put on masks and we will be whatever we think you need or want us to be... in all that pretending, we lose sight of the real us. But I am excited to tell you that those days are nearing an end!
Can I get an Amen?
For over a decade, God has been reminding me of who I really am... He sings it over me, He loves it in to me, and when I am tempted to believe old lies, to revert to old ways, to put on old masks, He laughs at me with wonder... because He knows...
He knows the truth.
It doesn't take much time for those old masks to no longer fit!
He sees the Real Me! ...and He sees the Real You, too, my friend!
When we begin to step into who He created us to be, the old ways of hiding or pretending are not so easy to fall back into.
Oh - don't get me wrong. You can do it... (*I don't recommend it!) but the longer you live out loud and step in to who He originally meant you to be, the taller you stand and the braver you get... and it's amazing to me how we all want to be free - but we're often unconvinced of how freedom comes in letting go of all the trappings of being enslaved.
We think there is comfort in blending in, in being like everyone else, in going along with the majority... but comfort and freedom are often not the same thing!
Our sense of comfort can keep us small and hidden... locked up and locked out.
No... what I long for - for me, and for you... is FREEDOM!
Now this message of True Identity is not a new one.
We have all heard that our Identity is hidden in Christ. That we are His and loved and worthy. Hopefully we are stepping into a Knowing that we are valued and valuable and that we are royalty and influential and carriers of the Kingdom.
But recently, as I am compiling some things on Identity for an upcoming talk, what the Lord is impressing on me is that He means it when He says that we are created in His image and when He whispers, "I made you on purpose, with purpose and I am madly in love with who I made you to be!"
We've heard the message of identity and how we are His... and we are!
Praise the Lord, we are!
But I believe He wants us to know that He loves everything about us.
All of our little quirks and personality ticks... our individuality and character. He loves our sense of humor and the way we cry... He loves our style - not what is dictated to us in fashion magazines or billboards, but how we put together an outfit or a meal or a sentence and how it just oozes our own style.
He loves how we create art... with our hands and words, our voices and hearts, yes - but also how we create art with our forgiveness, our willingness to take a risk, with how we love and how even sometimes doing ANY of those things still cause us to sweat and shake a little!
He is madly in love with us... with all of us... and all of who He made us to be!
You are already seen... you are, as Holley Gerth says, already amazing!
I believe you were created to be awesome...
To stir up Wonder!
I think we have only grabbed hold of half of this Identity message and we know that we are supposed to identify with Him and how He is... sure.
But I believe we are also supposed to identify with the person He made us to be. We have been grafted in and we carry within us the very DNA of God... but we also carry within us something that no one else on earth carries... no one can bring to the table what you have to offer!
No one.
So I invite you to put down your mask(s)...
Let's lean in... get quiet, and do a little Listening Prayer together:
I invite you to read this prayer but then stop...
close your eyes and imagine Jesus standing in front of you... Ask Him the question and then wait for Him to answer!
Oh how He longs to answer!
Ready?
Turn your heart and attention toward Him...
Breathe in deep... slowly inhaling... slowly exhaling...
(for real... as in, right now... take a few deep breaths.)
Now, join with me in prayer:
Holy Lord, we come to you today and we ask you to help us to lay down our masks. Father, thank you that you see us... really see us as who you intended for us to be. Help us to step up into our true selves.
Jesus, we stand before you and we offer you our masks... all the ways we hide and shrink back... all of our insecurities and the ways we are unsure. As we hand them all over to you, our hearts' cry is this: "Who do you say I am? Who did you create me to be?"
Lord, what is our true identity... what have you put in our DNA that, when partnered with you, can change the world?
As we hand over the ways we hide, what would you give us in exchange that speaks to who we really are?
Is there anything else you would like to say to us about who you created us to be?
(Now... wait for Him to answer!)
Lord, we love you! Thank you for meeting us here... for speaking into who you created us to be! Thank you that you see us how we really are... and you love us, still! That your desire for us is to rise up into who you created us to be...
...precious, beloved, yours!
In Jesus' Name, Amen!
For some of you, Listening Prayer* may be a new practice. And it is just that... it is a tool and it takes practice, but I believe when we slow time, breathe deep, and ask Him to meet with us... well, it just blesses His heart!
Maybe you, like me, have been on a journey in discovering and rediscovering who you really are!
Maybe you are confident in Whose you are, but the who you are part is still pretty blurry and out of focus.
Maybe this is all brand new and scary and feels overwhelming.
Wherever you are on your journey... trust that He sees the real you... and He adores you --not what you can do for Him, or because of who you know or what you've already accomplished so far... no, He may love those things about you...
...but always, always,
He is after your heart!
Remember, He created you on purpose,
FOR a purpose!
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
Search on, my friends!
Holley Gerth for #CoffeeforYourHeart
Meredith Bernard for #Woman2WomanWednesday
*For more information about Listening Prayer, click HERE.
What is something about your true identity that you have a hard time believing? How can I pray with you, to encourage you to step into who He says you are?
Hey Karrilee, I love what you shared. In my journey I discovered that identity linked up to legitimacy. When we can feel like true legitimate children, we can believe in our value. The enemy wants us to believe we are paupers but we are actually princes and princesses. Our Daddy is the King. When we can believe in who we are, feel who we are, accept who we are then we can fully live who we are. So many people are believers but they have an identity crisis, old wounds and pain seem to do that but may God bless us with the will and freedom to overcome so that we can really idenitfy with the Womb and Love of the One who made us, Jesus! Much love dear friend Aliyah (setapartwarrior.blogspot.com)
ReplyDeleteAmen Aliyah! Amen! Your comment reminded me of one of my favorite books called The Supernatural Ways of Royalty... it speaks directly to this whole prince vs. pauper mindsets! I love how you pointed out that our identity is linked to legitimacy! It's so true! Thanks so much for hanging out and taking the time to join in on the conversation! I so appreciate you, friend!
DeleteExcellent - and I am noting a thread in all the blogs I've read today. Holy confirmation. I also love the prayer...I made it super personal with ME, I, etc. Beautiful post, Karrilee, and I imagine your teaching will be even better!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? It's like God is really, really, really wanting us to get this Identity thing! ;) So glad you personalized the prayer, too! I almost went back and did that in the post, but left it as a group prayer for Community reasons, but I hope everyone knows that they can personalize it! xoxo
DeleteYour words ALWAYS speak to me friend! I indeed know who and whose I am but sometimes that identity is blurry. Today I took a breathe and prayed the prayer and listened. I heard God reminding me what my gifts are! Who I am created to be! "Fearfully and wonderfully made!!"
ReplyDeleteIt's so true, right? We can know it - but we can also lose sight of it a bit and it can all get blurry! I am so glad that you took the time to pray... and that God spoke to you and reminded you of the gifts He has placed within you! He's so good... and while we may lose our focus and doubt our gifts, He never does!
DeleteI love this post! My 31 Days last year was on our identity in Christ, and writing it was a life-changing experience for me.
ReplyDeleteI really love this - "We think there is comfort in blending in, in being like everyone else, in going along with the majority... but comfort and freedom are often not the same thing!"
It's so true! Being who God created us to be is what gives us true freedom! I'm still working out what that looks like for me as an individual, but I'm enjoying the discovery process!
Amen, Lynnae! Amen! (And now I am off to bookmark your 31Days!) xoxo
DeleteNo matter how many times I hear this truth, speak this truth, and believe this truth, I always need just one more reminder! Thank you for delivering that powerful reminder today!
ReplyDeleteI know, right? We ALL need to be reminded of this truth! There are so many voices trying to dictate to us who we are... it's easy to get a bit lost and confused! So glad you stopped by!
DeleteI just never tire of your words, Karilee. I don't think I was supposed to read this through tears, but I did. You see, over the last year I feel like my identity is being uncovered and I can finally see who God made me to be. Not that I was hiding from it or avoiding it before. But I don't think I recognized it due to a series of unfortunate circumstances as a child and adolescent. I was just telling my husband last night that the changes we are making in our lives should scare me...but they don't. I am feeling more and more certain on what God put in us and I feel such incredible peace from that. Oh, how I want the world to experience that same peace. Thank you for your words. As always, they are an incredible encouragement to me.
ReplyDeleteGirlie - you read it exactly when you needed to! I honestly believe that! Standing up tall in who we really are is such a process and it brings so much freedom... and it really breeds in us a bit of Brave that we couldn't tap into before knowing ourselves and how we were created!
DeleteAlways so thankful when you stop by! I love that we want the same things... for others to discover who they are... for healing and for restoration --to Him, and to our true selves, too! For His Kingdom to come to earth, as it is in heaven!
Love you, friend!
xoxo
Whew! Those deep breaths felt good! This is such an impt message and it's one I really don't pay enough attention to. You nailed it when you said the reason we don't step out more is because we want to stay in our comfort zones. Love this.
ReplyDeleteComfort Zones are so cozy! But they so often can keep us from stepping out into what we are called to do! Deep Breaths always help me to feel centered and refocused! So glad you stopped by!
DeleteWow! I needed this message today. Today has not gone how I planned it, and I was feeling so bummed and was beating myself up over some mistakes I made today. Your post and the listening prayer helped me so much to remember my identity in Christ. Thank you so much for sharing this Karrilee!
ReplyDeleteOh Jo Rose... we have all had days like that! I am so glad that He led you here and that He met you there - right where you are... and reminded you of who (and Whose!) you are, my friend! xoxo
DeleteYou're speaking my love language here. So much PreApproved goodness here. Here's to mask-free living in 2015! And to letting your Inner Awesome FLY!
ReplyDeleteGAH... please tell me you are going to Jumping Tandem? Please.. I love you so, my friend! One of my biggest regrets at Allume a couple of years ago was letting my bladder be the boss of me when I passed by you and Shelly Miller in the bathroom! We need a do over! ;)
DeleteIt's amazing how He really does keep showing me the same thing...in fact I was just thinking yesterday about this. How I wear so many masks and all for what? For who? When the only One that matters knows exactly who I am and made me this way and loves me...no matter what. Thank you for THIS. Let's embrace who we are this year and all our years...together. Love this! Love you!
ReplyDeleteAmen sister friend! Amen! I love that He didn't just create us to be in His image... but He created us in His image to be ourselves!!! He created us the way we are on purpose! He loves us, quirks and all! xoxo
Delete